Jonathots Daily Blog
(4097)
It is not so much what as it is how.
Knowing what needs to be done may be insightful but discovering how to do it is the essence of wisdom.
In our time, the argument over what our problems are is quickly overthrown by a ferocious debate over how to address them.
I put this to the test.
While working on my latest novel, I came across a scene where two of my characters are embroiled in a disagreement. I sat down and wrote the entire passage with back-and-forth dialogue which was laced with animosity. At no time did I introduce foul language.
So the reader, after finishing this particular interchange, might well be alarmed by the severity of the debate—but certainly not frightened that the two souls involved were going to launch into anything other than aggravation.
Then I sat down and rewrote the scene, except in the midst of the fiery comments I inserted expletives, like “damn, shit, fuck and hell.” As I moved along from line to line, I realized that the discussion had changed, and was now on the verge of violence. In other words, it would have been very easy to end with a murder.
The what was the same. The standoff was identical.
But how it was implemented changed it from a fussy situation to a dangerous dilemma.
In the pursuit of trying to get attention, gain influence and bring fame and fortune in our direction, we may be guilty of taking situations which could be handled more simply, and complicating them merely for the purpose of making ourselves look righteous.
Consider this:
Is it possible that an aging, well-seasoned politician who earned his stripes decades ago might not know to keep his hands to himself, and that instead of sexual assault, it just might be innocent ignorance?
Could it be that in trying to establish reasonable relationships with notorious dictators we could represent our willingness to sit down and prattle over the issues without jokingly referring to the two parties as being “in love?”
Might we possibly consider the myriad of problems that create gun violence rather than cursing all guns or insisting that the situation is just “the criminal mind?”
It may be admirable to know what a situation is, but it is divinely inspired to find the best way how to manage it.
I think this even goes into our relationships with government and faith.
Is it possible that what John Adams and George Washington considered to be of primary concern in 1790 might be better thought through by more educated souls in 2019?
And suffice it to say that a book that was written before Christ and some that were written after his birth might certainly do well to be mulled over and discussed in more detail before we decide on how to conduct our spirited decisions today.
Knowing what is good. But choosing how to solve it is better.
And of course, the best is knowing that the what and the how always have to be tempered by the why.
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this inspirational opportunity
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