I read a cute story the other day. The fellow said it happened when he was 7 and his sister 5, and no doubt if you asked her she would remember it differently.
They were playing in their bedroom, on the top bunk, when she fell off. He knew if she started crying the parents would rush in and he would be in bad trouble. He was supposed to be taking care of his sister. So he looked down, and she was on her hands and knees, about to cry from the shock and pain. But being quick-witted, he said, “Susie! You’re on all fours! People don’t land like that — you must be a unicorn!”
He could see the conflict on her face — it hurt, but a unicorn? She loved unicorns. So the story won, and she climbed back up to play.
Epictetus scores again:
People are not disturbed by things, but by the views they take of them.
I’m sure Epictetus would be horrified at this idea, but as the story above points out, the views we take don’t necessarily have to be true to make us happy. As Ashleigh Brilliant says,
I have given up my search for truth. Now I’m looking for a good fantasy.
As we mentioned a couple of days ago, it would be a dull world indeed if we never stretched the truth.
February 9, 2015
I had failed to convert a customer from using a competitor’s product when I was a salesman and my boss asked me if I had told him about some benefits, when I responded that those benefits did not apply for that end use, he told me something that became famous in the entire company – ” As a salesman, give them facts young man, give them facts; they don’t have to be facts, but give them facts.”
Great story! Andy and I were telling a friend once that salesmen lie. She said, no, they simply tell you what they think you want to hear.
I’m still thinking of Brian Williams. One article says,
Maybe he picked the wrong profession. Being a news anchor may not let him make use of his natural talents.
one morning to keep the marine quiet while our parents slept in for a rare change…
i convinced him i wasn’t really his sister. i was an angel sent just to watch over him.
LOLOL.
he was 4. i was 7. he bought it hook line and sinker.
lost my credibility when he insisted i fly off the upstairs landing. LOLOL.
everything in life is personal perspective i think. we all see anything through our own personal filter. it’s amazing and baffling and wonderful!
You were both clever kids! Thanks. 😀
http://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/idea-happened-memory-recollection
ah. well said about brian williams and newscasters… there in the new yorker.
thanks rummy.
as of last try…
when i go to your site it’s telling me ‘this page cannot be displayed!’
i am not friends with my computer at the moment. nobody else seems to be mentioning they can’t see your blog now. just me.
i have such a love hate relationship with my computer! 🙁
Tammy, you are not the only one. Despite Ramana’s assurances all I get is “This website is not available”. Talk about playing hard to get.
U
Yes, I’ve read several articles about that. That’s why eye-witness testimonies and identifying people in a lineup can be so inaccurate. Spreading that knowledge may be one good thing that comes out of the Brian William’s fiasco.
a “unicorn” how cool that must have been…
I wonder what that boy is doing now with his life 🙂