Having an Independent Mind

Having an Independent Mind

1991 7 July 13 Having an Independent Mind (139) When a gale is blowing, smaller birds are entrapped and dragged along in its wake, but the bigger birds with their greater wing power can fly high, thus setting themselves free of the intensity of the storm. Hence the American proverb, ‘big bird of the storm’

In the same way, there are two levels of human thought. There is the thinking which is conditioned by circumstances, revolving around the· happenings of the immediate environment. People who, thinking in this way, fail to rise above their circumstances, also fail to think independently. But there are those who, like the ‘big bird of the storm’, have the ability to rise above their surroundings. Their thinking is not conditioned thinking. They form their opinions by rising above their circumstances.

This second type of thinking could very appropriately be termed ‘big bird thinking’.