This coming weekend is Memorial Weekend. It is a special day to remember those who gave their lives for our USA freedom, from the various wars, and those who have served fellowmen in ways that put others first. Some of the people have died with the hope of making life better for someone else. May the souls of these men and women be honored and remembered and rest in a place of peace. Our words may not be able to describe this place or state of being. I learned to call this place heaven. I have the hope of going to this place someday.
Are these people who follow orders for a supposed better cause, thinkers? Some may say no, because they just follow orders. Others, may say, yes, because they thought first, about such service, knowing the consequence could be death, and they still said, “yes”.
Doesn’t that make thinking seem confusing? Well, maybe so.
As I reflect on who is a thinker, I believe the thinker is someone who researches as many available possibilities to information on a topic as is possible. I believe that person considers consequences per each piece of information and situation. I believe the thinker weighs the experiences of others and listens to the wisdom of social groups of people, whether the information is written down or not, and then whether it is passed on to others verbally and through tradition. I believe the thinker does not disregard information, but rather categorizes the information in the brain. When decisions are made per a topic, the source of the information, the type of tradition, the art, the music, the dance, and the work of the people all need to be considered. If money is involved in a bit of info or viewpoint, the source of where the money is coming from needs to be weighed in determining if the information is factual or slanted to promote an agenda or not. A thinker can see truth after reflection. Another consideration is learning to listen to the gut, and to meditate, so a person really gets to know their own personal way to access wisdom and to know truth.
As a midwife, I tend to think of the many possibilities of a labor and birth. I have seen many births, none which have been the same. I hold this sacred process of life as a holy space in which baby enters the world and mother enters into motherhood in a new way. She in essence becomes a new person. During the process of labor and birth, there are moments to think and there are moments to allow the wisdom of the universe to direct the situation. When moments seem unclear or baby is taking its time, that is the time to allow the brain to think of all the possible reasons why this could be so. If knowledge can help out a situation, that is when the thinking needs to be used, in search of wisdom. Should the midwife be the only one thinking at a challenging time? I say, “No .” The parents, hopefully have been prepared enough, and/ or prepared themselves enough, with as much information as possible to trust the process of birth, and to know the options for concerning situations. That is called thinking. If a person does not have options, then there is no need for a person to think. If a person only knows one available option for a situation, then the person really is unable to think and really not able to make an educated decision. Knowledge empowers people with options. Options give people the opportunity to think, and to make decisions. By making decisions, with enough information of pros and cons, or risks and benefits, parents can be empowered to be the thinkers and decision makers for their new family members at birth.
What about other than birth? Who are the thinkers? They are people in similar situations to the birth. The thinkers are people who research, find various viewpoints on a topic, consider the sources, and consider the money that is supporting the articles. If there is a conflict of interest between a viewpoint and a company that is providing the money for the research, then the honesty of the information in the article must be evaluated. We know humans can be greedy and want to make money off of each other. So, we must consider whether information is truthful or tainted. Question if there is enough evidence for such a viewpoint? Is the company considering the most natural means available? Is the company changing the structure of the item used? Is the ecology of the earth and animals being respected? Is there information available from sources other than our earthly visible sources? If so, then we here on earth can never prove anything conclusively. These are questions and thoughts I personally would consider.
So, thinkers, please don’t write off an idea because someone else said it was a stupid idea, or a wrong idea. Do research for yourself. Learn how to find information or become a researcher yourself. Let us all become better able to find accurate information, to discuss information in a mature and non-threatening way, and then to make healthy decisions. Let us all become better thinkers.