Jiggle the Handle

That’s just the way it is. Sometimes you have to jiggle the handle. Everything is not perfect in life nor should it be. If we expected perfection in everything we do very little would get done. Very often answers and improvements are found in the mistakes. 

     There are times when perfection should be the goal, like a space launch with astronauts aboard, but even those perfect launches have there imperfect moments. I’m sure while in flight some switch or lever doesn’t work as originally designed, but do the seasoned pilots fret. No, because they have experience dealing with these type of problems. There are many engineers in Houston supporting them with alternate solutions, but sometimes it just comes down to jiggling the handle. I can easily imagine an astronaut jiggling a handle, then exclaiming “It’s fixed.”

     We all have experienced minor problems when we jiggled the handle and got a positive result. I guess what I’m saying is live your life to your best, but don’t despair when things aren’t perfect. Sometimes you need to be satisfied with  “jiggle the handle” results. “Just Saying . . .”

How Common is Common Sense?

What’s wrong with people? Don’t they have any common sense? I’ve heard this said many times. I’ve said this recently, but it made me wonder. Is there such a thing as common sense that is truly common to everyone in the world? The term, common sense, implies that it’s knowledge known worldwide. It’s common, therefore everyone should be aware of it.

     Common sense is a learned ability. A newborn doesn’t have it. They learn that fire is hot, ice is cold and a knife is sharp. They can learn this the hard way or the easy way, but after awhile this falls into the category of common sense.

     If you live in a household that doesn’t have electricity, you might not know that sticking a metal object in an electric outlet will give you a shock. To most people this is common knowledge, therefore your common sense tells you not to do this.

    Your upbringing, experience and social status contributes to what you believe is common sense. It all comes down to what is common among the entire world population. The only things common among all the people of the world are our basic needs: food, water, shelter and self preservation. Common sense is not included in our basic needs.

     If you agree that common sense is a learned ability then, you will understand that it’s different for each of us because we have had unique learning experiences. Men and women with the same background will have a different common sense. So what I’m saying is there is really no such thing as common sense because we are all different. We should call it, good sense. If it’s good, then it makes sense to do it.

    There are people that chose to ignore their good sense. We may have all done this at times. It’s when you do something, then say to yourself. Well, that was stupid. Each time you throw your good sense to the curb, you increase your chances to unlearn this sense.

    Although the question about common sense sounds simple, I believe it’s more complex than it seems. So from now on when I wonder why someone doesn’t have any common sense, I’ll need to consider their background, upbringing or if their just making bad choices. If it’s my next door neighbor with a similar background then my initial question maybe valid, but if it’s someone in a foreign country or even the kid living in the inner city my judgement could be off.

     These are my personal beliefs so you are free to disagree. Your opinion is valuable to me. If mine is welcomed by you then we have that in common. “Just Saying . . . “
   

Smart Food

We were at the grocery store yesterday doing our weekly shopping. I noticed ground chicken was advertised as organic smart chicken. I understand that organic means free range and no antibiotics, but I’m struggling with the term smart chicken. Especially, when it’s now in the ground meat section of the grocery store.

     Doesn’t seem like it was smart enough since it didn’t evade the meat market. Maybe the chicken needed more smart water. I’ve always associated smart with intelligence, but apparently my thinking is skewed because you can buy many different foods that are labeled smart. Interesting that it started with smart popcorn. Who knew popcorn would garner the the term smart as a moniker?

     We have many smart devices these days including phones, TV’s, plugs, doorbells, light bulbs, etc. but smart seems to be more appropriate for those than they are to food.  Smart foods imply healthy, but I guess smart is a more marketable word, so they changed the definition. Of course, why not screw with the English language, no one will notice. Many of the smart foods are snacks, so not typically on the healthy chart. Eating healthy is smart, but I question that eating snacks are smart, so if we call them smart snacks that makes them okay.

     I snack now and then, but I don’t think I’m any smarter because of it. You might be a smart-aleck or smarty-pants, but you probably came by that naturally. “Just Saying . . .”