What You Will Learn in This Blog Post
Common Sense and the Lack There Of
Common Sense Essential Oil Blend
What It Means to Have Common Sense
Going Beyond Common Hour Thinking
It’s Thanksgiving month, and the traditional dish in the United States is Turkey! Ummm… I can’t wait for turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.
But when someone says to you, “Don’t be a turkey,” they are light-heartedly telling you don’t be a fool or act silly. It’s a colloquial way of telling you to behave and use common sense. Growing up, I must have acted like a “Turkey” more than once because I recall being told to use common sense fairly frequently.
That leads me to share with you my thoughts on common sense and going beyond common hour thinking.
A number of years ago, Gary Young, founder of Young Living Essential Oils, came out with a new proprietary essential oil blend he called “Common Sense.” Gary said this blend carried the frequency of practical wisdom to be used to encourage a sensible approach to challenges and circumstances. When you study the chemical properties, you find elements that encourage clarity of mind, calmness, and strength. All great properties that would increase mental acuity, improve decision-making, and strengthen everyday thinking skills.
Now, that kind of common sense is very helpful, especially in our day when people jump to conclusions, make rash decisions, or no decisions at all. Perhaps we should send a little “Common Sense Essential Oil Blend” to Congress and to World Leaders.
Common Hour Thinking
In the 1800’s, according to the transcendentalists, common-hour thinking implied that the prevailing communal beliefs held by society reflected the collective wisdom that comes from shared experiences. If you look at Ralph Waldo Emerson’s writings, you find that he encouraged people to trust their own insights and beliefs while also respecting the perspectives of others. He believed in respectful dialogue, where individuals are encouraged to express their thoughwhile actively listening to and considering the viewpoints of others. (We could only hope our leaders read his work soon!)
Henry David Thoreau, who was Emerson’s gardener and tutor for his children, wrote this famous passage in his book Walden,
“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
What was he trying to tell us in this passage? I believe he was expressing his idea that true success – derived from personal growth, self-discovery, and deep connection with the natural world – may not be readily understood or appreciated within the confines of ordinary, everyday life – common hour thinking.
Thoreau is inviting us to look beyond the materialistic and societal measures of achievement and recognize the profound significance of inner fulfillment and personal integrity that often go beyond common, everyday experiences.
Here’s the challenge. It’s time to go beyond those beliefs we hold dearly in our society and do some soul-searching. As Thoreau continues in that famous passage in Walden,
“You will pass an invisible boundary… where the old laws are expanded and interpreted in a more liberal sense, and you will live with the license of a higher order of being.”
It’s time we start believing in our dreams. Life doesn’t have to be complicated -we can seek a simpler, more contemplative existence. Genuine success comes when we pursue our passions and ideals, even when they may not align with the mainstream definition of success – common hour thinking.
A final note from Thoreau. A few paragraphs later, he advised us, “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however, measured or far away.”
So, Happy Thanksgiving month as you continue on your path, listening to the music that draws you to go beyond common hour thinking using your common sense and deciding not to be a turkey!
Would love to hear your comments this month!
Linda Smith