The Convenience of Thinking For Yourself: It is a Gift, the Convenience of Thinking for Yourself

What a marvelous reality it is that you are able to think for yourself. If you compare how the human mind thinks metaphorically with the flight of an eagle, you will begin to see the reality that the human mind functions in amazing ways, and appreciate the convenience of being able to think for yourself.

To what height does an eagle soar

Beyond the world and even more?

Is there one man, who's keeping score?

What mystery the mind does pour,

Though grounded on a human floor;

Sometimes it's peace, but oft it's war.

Who holds the key to wonder's door?

One apple, peeled right to the core;

A truth that some will e'er ignore

Though traces lie within folklore

Still coupled in a lion's roar;

The human book, that page, who tore?

Consider your thought process for a moment. 

The freedictionary.com suggests that your thought process is "the process of using your mind to consider something carefully."

"This really is convenient!" you might suggest. "I actually think for myself!"

There is so much more to it than that. Certainly you have the ability to think for yourself, but you can also think in such a way that you can comprehend the reality of man landing on the moon. You can think about the simple things in life.

"I can think things through! I can act upon my own thoughts rather than having to rely on the thoughts of someone else."

Imagine for a moment, what it would be like if you were not able to think for yourself. Someone else would have to do all of your thinking for you. That would not be any fun at all and may involve medical ethics. It could turn into a horrific scenario for you without intervention on your behalf. It might be inconvenient for you, as well. 

Consider this simple example.

"Here is a glass of water."

What if you could not think for yourself?

Would you realize that you need to have a drink of water, probably not! Maybe you would not even understand how to accept it from the hand of the person who offered it to you. If you did figure out how to take the glass in your hand, would you comprehend that you should drink it, or actually know how to drink it?

What if you did not want a glass of water?

For example, perhaps someone else had already given you a glass of water. You don't really need or want another one. Would you be able to refuse it?

No, is a very important word. If you could not think for yourself, would you be able to understand the word no? Could you act on it?

People who become totally disabled can have a lot of difficulty responding to others, but many of them are still able to think for themselves and have the ability to decide whether they might want a drink of water, but not all of them, unfortunately. Those who have suffered severe trauma, or have sustained head injuries could have problems thinking for themselves. So do many elderly people whose faculties are gradually diminishing. Those who are dying may not be able to thinks for themselves either.

You may not stop to think how convenient it is that you can think for yourself. You should celebrate that reality in your life and enjoy that faculty fully while you still have the ability to enjoy it. Far too often, you may tend to take it for granted.

The human mind has a wonderful capacity to function in ways that you or others don't really understand completely. Many times, people unknowingly allow their mental faculties to become altered in some way through the excessive use of alcohol or drugs. Once the damage is done it may not be reversible.

While it is convenient to be able to think for yourself, it is important that you are always aware of the reality that this ability could be stripped from you, at any time in your life. It truly is a gift so you must always use it wisely.