Whatever you call that “instinct of awareness”, I feel that there’s no reasonable denying that such though processes exist and work for some people in varying degrees.
I’ve always had pretty good fortune with them, myself… going with a “gut feeling” or acting on some cues that can’t really be explained more thoroughly than just saying “it feels right” or “it feels wrong”. When torn between matters of the heart and head I’ve found that the first instinct is usually a good one to run with… but far better is taking that instinct and tempering it with logic and a little thought if the time and brainpower is available.
Having a gut feeling is like a security blanket for me… probably much like that of being very opinionated. There are some things that I have no intuition for, and those things create in me a small sense of confusion… not really discomfort, but it does set off a desire to research facts about whatever it is that is eluding my gizzard. I think that’s part of why I like a lot of esoteric trivia… looking into something that I don’t have the first inkling about.
The other night, when Danny and I went out and about, we were driving through the rich area of Deerfield by the beach, looking for a place to eat. With Rose Red on my mind these last few days, I queried him about his feelings about an afterlife… anything ranging from the existence of souls, haunted houses, or reincarnation… something that he and I have never really discussed much. His response was a little disconcerting to me… along the lines of “I don’t know, and I prefer not to think about it”. I didn’t quite know what to make of that reply. It was honest, anyway. I suspect that he doesn’t like to think about it because he might think that it may reflect on his faith, somehow. That said though, had us change discussion topics to something else.
I don’t get how that mindset works, though. How do you opt not to think about something? Is it like changing the topic of conversation? If I don’t know something, I like to ponder it at least a little bit, do a little research and form an opinion or hypothesis if possible. I can’t say as there’s any topic that I’m not wanting to learn more about, in some way.
listening to old episodes of the shadow radio program… blue coal had a special “trial offer” of just one ton of coal for your furnace.
How long did a ton of coal last back then, in an average-sized coal-burning home? a week? a month? I really haven’t got a clue, being an adult Floridian in the 21st century.