Wednesday; October 21

The other day I was looking for a quote … well, not really a quote, but someone I could quote. I realize that at my age it is tempting to keep referencing my influences and the voices of inspiration from days gone by; so I decided to do a little research and I made two interesting discoveries. First, many of the more quotable people are those from history and, second, I had never heard of many of the people that were listed as voices of reason in modern society. Is it just me or does it seem like there are fewer and fewer trusted voices in the modern world?
As I thought about this, I wondered what it takes to be a voice of reason – both on a national scale; but maybe, as importantly, in our own spheres of influence? Here are some suggestions:

1. Speak the truth – but do so gently. We need accuracy and we need it delivered in a way that people will accept it. Let’s be honest, but be humble at the same time.

2. Find a platform that reaches people. Have we become too reliant on social media? One of the problems with modern communication is that we follow and are followed by like-minded people. We are afraid we will be viewed as offensive or don’t want to listen to new and different ideas, so we just close ourselves off from others – especially those who don’t share our common ideas or ideals. If we are hoping to inspire people, let’s find a way that we can broaden our influence.

3. Think, don’t just repeat. It is easy to copy and paste someone else’s thoughts; but what good does that do? If we leave all the thinking to a few loud voices, how will new and innovative ideas be heard? Let’s be quick to listen to others, but we need to engage our brains as we open our ears.

4. Discuss, don’t just debate. Discussions constitute an exchange of ideas while debates merely set out to prove points. Truth is often discovered in exchanging ideas, not defending positions.

Think About It! 

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