Anyone who knows me knows I love to tell stories, relate movies, or impart tidbits of trivia. It's something I like about myself but also something that drives me (and Chrissa) up the wall. I was reminded of this trait when I was writing my 99... (#89 and number #98)
Once when I was in college I started wondering how many of the stories I told were actually true. For a period of months I began stopping myself mid-story and apologizing, then writing it down so I could actually look it up later. I found out that about 1/2 the stories I told were "true" and that of those, only about 10% of the time did I get the details correct (like numbers).
Since that time I've gotten back into that habit: passing on triviata I definitely have heard but don't know of its truthfulness.
So I'm re-committing myself. No more telling stories for the next couple of months until I know they're true.
That being said, I would like to pass on a quick story that I used to share that - to my joy -turned out to be true:
Some of the best runners in the world are the Tarahumara--a group of indigenous Mexicans who live in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. They are so fit that they can hunt by running their prey to exhaustion. They call themselves "raramuri" (swift feet). They have competition races up to 150 miles. In one race, they dribble a wooden ball, soccer style. In another, they throw and catch wooden hoops while they run.
Most of them drink and smoke before a race, and run in ragged home-made sandles. They first came to international attention as runners in the 1928 Olympics marathon (where two of them finished the race complaining: "Too short, too short!")...and then on the ultra-marathon (i.e. 100-mile races) circuit in the early 1990s. A lot of world racers dislike the Tarahumara and there has been some controversy about their running.
That was a good bedtime story, Grandpa.
7 years ago
3 comments:
Those guys are something else.
J, I totally do the same thing. I really don't mean to be "lying", as much as sometimes I'm just passing on something i heard...and I haven't really checked to see if its actually true, and sometimes I'm guessing (in response to a question). This quality comes very much in handy when taking tests (it's part of having practical logic, and it's a great skill), but it can kind of suck when you tell people stuff, and you sound like you know what you're talking about (sometimes) and they believe you, and then you find out you're wrong and have to go back and correct yourself. I've also started trying to stop myself mid-sentence when I realize I'm doing that, and then explain that I'm just guessing/ that this is just a theory.
Where I have to really be careful is crossing the line between thoughtful speculation in the gospel or intuition/guessing as it pertains to other people's feelings. In both areas, I think deeply about stuff, and I fill in the blanks. This can be so helpful sometimes. In the gospel, it helps me find added insight and understanding in spiritual matters that help me in my life to feel closer to God, or to improve my relationship with myself or with others. In the "other people's feelings" area, it can help give me insight into someone else which helps me improve my relationships with them, be more patient or say the right thing, etc.
It's really just a skill that comes from being able to see holistically and to fill in the blanks. You put a lot of "pieces" together, which often seem unrelated, and you make up for what's missing.
Sounds like a weird connection, but it's the same reason why I can make up recipes in cooking stuff - and make something good that I've never made before. I just put the pieces together, applying rules I've learned elsewhere...make assumptions and alter things according to individual differences...and viola!
by the way, have you a chrissa made a "bet" about this? (You being able to go for a month only passing on true stories, statistics, etc)
It definitely seems bet-worthy. Maybe you can get yourself out of debt. It'll be good motivation to stick to it.
Of course, maybe you'll end up being over your head in what you'll ever be able to pay and Chrissa will send the thumb-breakers after you.
That Chrissa's a hard-A. Gotta watch out for that one. How much do you owe her now?
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