Friday; January 2

On January 2, 1961, the temperature on Haleakala in Hawaii fell to 14 degrees!  Who would have thought this tropical island state could ever get that cold? Interestingly, the state record has been set since then at 12 degrees in 1979.  That’s kind of unbelievable isn’t it – until you also realize that Haleakala’s elevation is over 10,000 feet above sea level.  Mauna Kea (where the new record was set) is almost 14,000 feet above sea level.  Again, who would have thought it was this high and could get that cold!

It is easy to make assumptions about things that shield us from considering them rationally.  We just expect something to be a certain way, so that’s how we think about it whether it is the truth or not.  While this can be limiting in our understanding of the world around us, this is most dangerous when we apply it to people.  Just as we assume something in the natural world can divert us from truth, assumptions about people can take us in mistaken directions. 

Let’s be patient in gathering information and hold off on our guesswork until we have a factual basis for our assumptions.  When we do that, we’ll learn a lot more and avoid making mistakes about facts and folks.

          Think About It!


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