Every Day I'm Drinking the Kool Aid

Of course, the phrase, "drinking the Kool Aid" is a cruel joke.  For those who don't get the reference, the incident on which this saying is based occurred in Jonestown, a colony of a religious nature in which the leader told his people they were going to be persecuted and suggestion the best option for them was to commit suicide.  Women, children, and men were given poisoned Kool-Aid.  They drank it, knowing they would die.
Now, if we accuse someone of drinking the Kool Aid, we mean that they are following an unreasonable belief or committing an illogical action based on that belief.  The suggestion is that they are not thinking for themselves. 
I recently offended a former student by using this phrase.  He had encountered an instructor with a belief system different than his own, and I suggested that before refusing the Kool Aid he perceived the instructor was offering, consider the Kool Aid he had been drinking up to that point in his life.  When he told me he was offended, I apologized.  My apology was not for my suggestion that he had been drinking Kool Aid, but that he was offended by statement.
We are all raised on a belief system.  Some of us will choose to embrace that belief system, some will reject it.  Either action can be performed without adequate thought.  So I suggested to my former student that we are raised on Kool Aid, and we need to constantly evaluate our flavor of choice.  By this I meant that we need to be diligent in giving thought to our beliefs and the groups with which we align ourselves in those beliefs.
I would never suggest to another person to give up their beliefs or attempt to alter their beliefs.  I would consider this doing them harm.  My belief system tells me not to do harm to others.  We have the beliefs we have because they work for us.  Either they aid us to live within society, or they allow us to live with ourselves.  But we must be sure that our beliefs are working for us, and they match up with our conception of morality.
Maybe utilizing this phrase was offensive.  It seemed I was suggesting that he had not thought about his beliefs.  I don't think I would suggest this to him.  However, when presented with a different set of beliefs, his first response was to become offended.  I would suggest the first response should have been to listen, consider, utilize a different way of looking at things to re-evaluate his own beliefs.  Not accept.  Not change his own beliefs.  Just listen, and consider.  My beliefs undergo modifications from time to time, and this is a good thing.  My earth is no longer flat.  And I've learned to brew my own flavor of Kool-Aid, which suits me best.

Belief and Knowledge

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about belief and knowledge.  I'm a big fan of knowledge.  I think knowledge is wonderful, and I'm constantly trying to get more, albeit in a somewhat passive way.  Belief I've never considered myself strong on, however.
But this isn't about my personal beliefs.  This is about belief in general.  I've come to realize how important belief is.  I recently read an essay based on a talk that Joseph Campbell, the eminient scholar on mythology, gave.  He discusses a conversation he had with an educated gentleman from India concerning the dating of the Vedas, or holy texts of that man's religion.  The man stated that he knew there were civilizations older than the texts in question, but he believed as an orthodox Hindu that nothing predated his holy texts.
This paradox of knowing one thing and believing another fascinates me.  I have a difficult time reconciling the two.  What a wonderful ability to be able to know one thing and believe another.  This may be a weakness on first glance, but in all reality, I've come to consider it a strength.
Consider on a smaller level how belief and knowledge, when contradictory in our personal lives, can strengthen us.  I can know that the odds are very slim that I can attain a particular achievement, but that might not stop me from believing I can do it.  That believe will lead me to an attempt, and although the odds might be against me, there is a chance I will succeed.  And I always keep in mind that even a failed attempt is instructive in nature.
Knowledge is wonderful.  Knowledge is power.  Knowledge is the ace in the deck.  But belief is the Joker.  I've heard that with belief all things are possible.  While I know that all things are not possible,  I can believe all things are possible, and as long as I believe they are, they are.  I know I can no longer eat pork steak without catastrophic gastrointestinal results, but in the brief moments while I'm looking at a grilled pork steak on my plate, I believe I can.  And I do.  My belief shapes my actions more than knowledge, and while the results in this instance are negative, that will not always be the case.  Knowledge may inform the way we perceive the world around us, but I've come to realize that belief more often shapes how we interact with the world.

Spaghetti Thursday

Today is Spaghetti Thursday. Last week, I decided to found a tradition. Most of the traditions I have attempted to found have gradually faded, but this is one I think I can keep. I do the grocery shopping for my family, and a good portion of the cooking. I decided that one night a week, I will not have to make a decision or face disapproval. Every Thursday will be Spaghetti Thursday.
Those of you who do not do the cooking for the family may not realize the freedom this will afford me. Those of you who do the cooking for your family may understand. It is not that I am an indifferent cook. I like to try new things, I like to improvise and experiment, and I like to pleasantly surprise my family. Just not all the time.
Creativity takes energy. In addition to my household duties, I also work. What kind of work I do is currently up in the air a bit, but that doesn't make it any less strenuous or enervating. I'm also in the process of completing a Master's degree in creative writing. So I do not have an abundance of creative energy to spare. Simply having one night where I don't have to worry about what to make for dinner is going to save me...well, probably not much. But a little. And I'm going to attempt to use this creative energy to blog a bit. This is something I have wanted to do for some time, but just haven't. This part of the tradition may fade. But maybe, just maybe, it won't. Stay tuned.