From The Storyteller
|
Thinking
I ran across a quote from Einstein that spurred my thinking, “The world, as we have created it, is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” First a definition: Oxford defines the noun (think.ing) as the process of using one's mind to consider or reason about something. Example: "They have done some thinking about welfare reform". As an adjective it means using thought or rational judgment. Example: "He seemed to be a thinking person". As I was thinking about this, I recalled Norman Vincent Peal’s 1952 book The Power of Positive Thinking, which I read over 50 years ago. A quick check found it has over 104,000 positive ratings on Amazon Publishing. Naturally this caused me to think about how many other books are out there trying to enlighten humanity about thinking. I found books on positive thinking, critical thinking, thinking in numbers, strategic thinking, thinking outside the box, thinking skills, thinking big, and even books on meta-cognition, which are books about thinking about thinking. The books and charts are endless, with each urging me to think myself into becoming a better person. Which, of course, caused me to think about the basketball game HORSE we played as kids. When a person makes a basket, the next person in line must make the same shot. No basket and you get a letter. Make the shot, and you get to try a different shot that they would have to make. The first one with all 5 letters lost. Motivation, accountability, and skill practice all in the 8th grade – wow. Somebody was the first one to think up the game, which brings me back to Albert. Think about it: if 8th graders can create change by thinking up a new game, maybe grown-ups can too. Moral: I smile because there is still hope. |