Written by: Steven Sisler the ‘whacko.’ Because he has nothing better to do…

Stupid: lacking ordinary quickness and keenness of mind; dull. Is this you sometimes? It’s me many times. Many times I lack the ordinary quickness and keenness of mind. This usually happens when I’m drowning in self-pity. Funny thing about self-pity… it always agrees with me.

How do you make something dull? By bashing it against a surface in the wrong way. Like holding a pencil in your fist and jamming it down tip first into a table. When I attack problems and challenges this way, I become extremely stupid.

How do you sharpen? Ahhh… interesting question. Sharpening is done by grinding away material on an implement with an abrasive substance harder than the material of the implement, followed sometimes by processes to polish the sharp surface to increase smoothness and to correct small mechanical deformations without regrinding. We are made sharp when we face circumstances much harder than ourselves, but the key is to allow them to rub you the right way.

Secrets:
Allow the hard surface to come along side you and rub right down your side. This is good. You must take it. Don’t try to avoid it by being stupid. Realize you are becoming sharper, more keen and potentially dangerous. Stop being shocked by unpredictable weirdness and expect things to go wrong sometimes. Not all the time, just sometimes. And remember, it’s the unpredictable weird things that shape our lives when we yield the right way.