THE ART OF THINKING

experiences, and those of others, helps us in intellectual development and saves us from unnecessary loss. Life is a series of experiences. If our eyes and ears are open and receptive, we can always derive useful lessons from them. These lessons enable us to construct our lives better. Acquire a receptive and open mind, and develop the ability to learn from experience, both your own, and that of others. DISTINGUISH An important aspect of the art of thinking is to be able to distinguish between things which, on the surface, appear to be similar, but on a deeper level, are radically different. There are a number of things in this world which fall into this category, and our failure to understand the difference often results in great loss. At every point in our lives, we are faced with a choice—between courses of action; between opinions; between ideas. This can be related to all matters in our daily life. We must refrain from forming opinions due to apparent or partial similarities. We must clearly analyze the difference between things and then form our opinions. Anyone who fails to comprehend this wisdom is like a driver who fails to differentiate between an empty street and a street full of traffic. ADJUST We are all born idealists. We constantly seek higher ideals, the highest and best in all spheres. This idealistic approach sounds good in theory but is destructive in the long run. The reason is that we do not live our lives alone. Everyone’s interests, considerations and choices vary. Everyone has a personal, unique view of what is good, bad, and ideal. Owing to this state of affairs, the achievement of the personal ideal is impossible. The only practical solution is to adopt the policy of adjustment with others. We must avoid all friction by ignoring obvious provocation, for trouble avoided is trouble averted. IGNORE PROVOCATION Conflicts and quarrels have always been a feature of human society. That is not to say that there is no escape from this deplorable situation. Instead of wasting your time being provoked into fighting, you should stick to the path of positive action and avoid negative action.