Why We Sometimes Ignore Reality

What we learn and why we learn¸ and more importantly what we choose to accept, seems more influenced by what we want to believe. Challenge any hardcore “true believer” regardless of the arena and you’ll likely be confronted with what some have called a “spirited intolerance” of any opposing view. All of this can occur despite the proofs that might be laid out in a classic “supportive data” format. So regardless of both tangible and empirical evidence to the contrary it seems that many people hold to their beliefs no matter how illogical, void of reason, or lack of experimental verification they have on their side.  Then there are those who will simply fabricate things hoping others won’t bother to check the facts. We see and hear this all the time and it raises the question about why some behave so enigmatically. The reasons, of course, are complex and ensconced in a myriad of both mental and emotional dimensions. Some people just don’t want to behave responsibly, and accepting certain truths would mean that prudent behavior is mandatory. Others are at the mercy of their fears. Still others seem unable or unwilling to expend the energy to take a stand. All of this brings me to an article someone sent me a few weeks back entitled, “The Science of Why We Don’t Believe Science.” There are other articles on the same subject but I found this one particularly intriguing. At the very least you might find it thought provoking.

http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2011/03/denial-science-chris-mooney

A Saltwater Fishing Vacation

A saltwater fishing vacation takes many forms. For us it was as much a chance to renew family bonds as it was to catch fish. So the time away was spent with the boys visiting and, of course, talking about fishing. The nights were long, quiet and tranquil as we fished into the early morning hours casting lines for speckled sea trout and red drum.

I cannot help but draw analogies between a summer’s vacation and life itself. The excitement of a new adventure builds and as the days progress there are moments of happiness and reminiscence. The time is lost in a pursuit of discoveries that ultimately are compressed into something difficult to distill though now and then snippets surface, as if pinched from the furrows into which they are bound, only to have them dissolve back into a muddle of memories that perhaps more than anything speak of who we were.

Finally, it is over. You knew that time would come though in the beginning it seemed far away. Now you wonder if, indeed, it really came to pass.

When not talking about fishing or eating fish caught the night before, fishermen spend their time going over their tackle and preparing for the night.

And fishermen also wait. They wait for the sun to go down.

They wait for the tides to change and for the schools to come in.

And then the excitement begins.

The speckled sea trout are biting.

          There are moments of calm and it is during this time that all fishermen enter a transcendent state where thoughts become imbued with contemplations too numerous to detail.

I paid the price for picking up this little crab to show my grandson.

         My oldest son sent me this photo when he and my grandson were flying home. Finally, it is over. You knew that time would come; though in the beginning it seemed far away. Now you wonder if, indeed, it really came to pass….