A little doubt !

I have known and met many people in life who live in the world of black and white, and I do not mean in terms of colour.  

We often hear the words, "On that, I have no doubt." In the world of black and white, there is no room for grey or uncertainty, not even a little niggle of doubt can enter such a realm.

There was an eminent gentleman with a wicked sense of humour. One day he was making his usual commute on the train taking him home after a days work. In the same carriage as he were two very prim and proper ladies. He had smiled at both in a friendly way but had no encouragement or response. He had attempted some innocent friendly conversation but again no response.

He knew the journey well and his mind was ticking over. Shortly before his station, there was a fairly long and dark tunnel the train passed through. As it entered the tunnel he lifted the back of his hand to his lips and made the sound of two or three loud kisses.

When the train drew into the station, he rose, lifted his hat, and in a gentlemanly way said, 

"May I thank whichever one of you two ladies I am indebted to for the charming incident in the tunnel." 

He then beat a hasty retreat, leaving the two ladies glaring at each other.

With just a little action he had raised doubt in the minds of both of the ladies. Where this doubt might have ended there is not telling.

In a world of black and white doubt of any kind can be a terrible burden.

As a minister, I had many colleagues who saw doubt as a terrible curse and somebody like me who frequently raised questions or put doubt in the minds of others as nothing much short of being a sinner. My own beliefs and the faith I had, had grown out of doubt and uncertainty and in my opinion was much the stronger for that.

As a teacher, I frequently challenged students who lived in the world of certainty and believing they knew most things. There were those who were never wrong and it was good to plant some seeds of doubt into that. Even if they were, in fact, correct 100% it did no harm to make they contemplate where the certainty came from and on what it was based.

The closed mind is the mind that has stopped growing. There was a time when the majority of humans believed the world was flat and if you travelled too far in one direction you would fall over the edge into oblivion. Those who challenged this belief were seen as idiots not to be trusted. 

Some of the most hurtful comments and dangerous actions come from those who have no room for doubt and it is their way or no way. Those who believe that there is only one way to reach a certain endpoint are often the very people that stop others from reaching that goal.

It is nice to discover new things and ways but a little doubt has never done anybody very much harm.

Have a good day, tomorrow is a moving day for me so if I am not posting this is the reason why.