Who’s A Believer?

Maybe Sharknado wasn’t so far-fetched. No, actually it was. Each of the sequels rated higher on the outrageous scale, and a situation like the one in Mexico might have initiated the whole thing. This week, townspeople in Tamaulipas reported how it rained fish. Scientists backed up their story, admitting that this phenomenon has happened in the past. A waterspout catches fish up in the air, blows onshore, and shocks everyone by depositing fish onto roadways in town. Compare this story to Sharknado:       

                                         https://youtu.be/JSHYNfb5Ppw

As unbelievable as Sharknado looked, raining fish is a real thing. Given the amount of fake news flying around, it’s difficult to tell what’s true and what’s not. Sometimes we rely on experts or scientist to convince us of the truth, other times it’s friends and Facebook. How do we decide what’s true? What’s the most incredible, true story you’ve heard lately?      

Your True Colors

Black clothing never goes out of style, but every year there’s another color to fill in the popular saying (blank) is the new black. According to fashion experts, red is the trending color for this fall. I don’t know how they pick the season’s top color, but they manage to convince us that we’re of date unless we fill our closets with whatever color the “experts” choose.

Situations used to be either black or white back when we thought we knew who we were, what we believed in, and how to navigate the world. As social issues become grayer, it’s important to pause and reconsider what we see and believe. Take look:

                                         https://youtu.be/2Lyc6DJ69To

If the current culture leaves you baffled or confused, revisit your core beliefs. When you look in the mirror, how do your true colors translate into your motto for living?    

Beware: The Truth

You never know what you’ll hear in the news or at home. That’s especially true with kids, so it shouldn’t have surprised me to hear one of ours say, “I’m pretty sure salmonella is a myth.” Tell that to anyone who has gotten sick from it. It’s easy to discount salmonella if neither you nor anyone you know has suffered from it, but that doesn’t make salmonella a myth. Many of the stories we read cause us to pause and think twice, like this one:

                                     https://youtu.be/DGYsnQyoueY

So, what’s your opinion? How do you decide if what you see and hear is true? Frankly, in this case, who cares? But lots of other issues do matter. Long ago, an important ruler asked, “What is truth?” It’s a question that still nags us today. What’s one thing you know to be true?    

Out of Control

Is there a month-long April Fool’s joke going on? It is officially spring; the daffodils are blooming, the rabbits are hopping, but the weather’s not reflecting the season. When snow flurries landed on our car this week, I told one of our kids that it was unusual to have the bright sunshine along with the snow. A winter-weary voice from the backseat of the car moaned, “Ugh, I feel like the weather is mocking me.” To make matters worse, weather forecasters predict more flurries for the weekend.

Given all the meteorological technology weather people use, we’ve been fooled into thinking that they know what to expect. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, this is the year to expect the unexpected. Let’s be glad we’re not dealing with this:

 

    https://youtu.be/jkOTCKLi89Q

Imagine if we had to spend a year without summer. People would threaten sit-ins and protests—but against whom, against what? Scientist would appease us by accelerating their weather-controlling experiments. I’m sure some expert is already working on it. Think about the lives saved and the damage avoided if we could prevent storms. We’re such plucky folks, trying to control everything. What have you finally decided not to try to control?   

The Crucial Talk

Look around and you‘ll see Halloween decorations popping up throughout the neighborhood. It’s the time of the year when people who are eager for Christmas decorations put up black and orange lights instead. And it’s the time when neighbors complain about the master decorator whose creativity makes the adults scream. Take a look:

                                         https://youtu.be/ug-AJ2_5fcg 

  

This squabble could continue for years. While the master decorator enjoys the holiday, his neighbors may think about “Halloweening” the decorator. Next year, if the two sides talk to one another instead of talking to other neighbors, police, and the media, maybe they’ll work out their differences. Talking begins with a civil, face-to-face conversation. What’s the crucial conversation you’ve avoided until now?      

What Do You Mean?

Kids say the funniest things. They surprise us because we forget about the amount of thinking that goes on in those little bodies. If you have a child or small relative, then you probably have an own experience of when a kid’s comment caught you off guard.

I remember the story about a relative who was heading off to work. She stopped in her tracks when her straight-faced second grader said, “You look like a clown.” Her outfit, in all of its polka-dotted glory, ended up back in the closet.

Yesterday I asked one of our kids a question about doing homework. I got a blank look, so I said, “You look as though I asked you to eat a cow.” Our youngster replied, “I probably could if it was seasoned right.” You never know what kids will say. Here’s more:

                                         https://youtu.be/yeqbaoaXbMw

The one little girl offered serious advice: You don’t need a raise. Problem solved. Wouldn’t it be nice to get the “perfect” advice for every situation? We all need someone to tell us the truth without tip-toeing around an issue. What advice have you been hesitant to give?      

Riddle Me This

What do you think about this video?

                                             http://youtu.be/q-jqMcKH4ZI

Did you see the Egyptian statue on the end turn around? Look again. The statue is ten inches high, stands in an enclosed glass case in a museum, and after three years—it’s moving. According to museum curators, it turns during the day. Time lapse photography shows the statue turning, but its movement is not visible to bystanders. A few people think the turning is caused by footstep vibrations. Do you want the truth? The statue moves because it’s part of a prank or it’s a very weird, unexplainable phenomenon. I chose prank—it’s less unsettling.

It’s more comfortable to believe that a moving statue is prank-related than to believe it’s an unexplainable mystery. Don’t we prefer clear-cut answers regardless of how we get there? If the statue is part of a prank, how does it turn and who is involved? Sometimes we only get to the heart of an issue by probing every answer with a succession of hows and whys.

Some of our beliefs lack in-depth reasoning, but we hold onto them until we hear a more convincing truth. What mystery or hotly debated topic can you settle because you know the real truth?