Sometimes change isn't just learning something new. Sometimes change involves hearing something that we disagree with or had previously thought to be false. The other day I was getting the kids ready to go to my son's cub scout meeting and my daughter told me it was raining. I told her that it wasn't. My perception was that the forecast had called for only a 10-20% chance of rain that day and it hadn't rained all morning or afternoon. I also did not hear water flowing down the gutters, so, in my mind. This was good enough to correct my daughter. I did not look out the windows or open the door to check. Now my daughter is 4 years old, mind you. I just assumed a simple mistake on her part to say it was raining because she had probably seen the gray clouds that were out or something.
So we walk out the door and immediately I sense it. I smell it. Rain. Not a downpour. It was a light rain, just barely more than a mist, but it was rain. I had not believed my daughter based on outdated and insufficient data. I assumed that my daughter didn't know what she was talking about. I took a morning forecast that was about 12 hours old and not hearing rain over what my daughter very well probably saw with her own two eyes out a window. I was wrong. I told her that she was right after all and we put on weather-proof jackets and went on about our evening.
I made one mistake, but not two. We all make mistakes. My first mistake was not believing my daughter or checking outside to verify. I could have made a second mistake though. I could have told her that I was still right because she couldn't prove that it was actually raining a few minutes before when she said it was. I would be a horrible parent for doing such a thing, but what if the situation was different. What if we're talking about two adults. Is it that easy to admit you're wrong to someone. It's not. Admitting you are wrong about something can make people (men, especially) feel that they have failed or are liars. I wasn't lying to my daughter, I truly didn't think it was raining, but when proved wrong, I admitted being wrong. My daughter didn't do a dance and make fun of me for being wrong, she simply smiled and went about our evening as well.
At some point as we grow into adults, the ability to change our thoughts and ideas becomes harder and harder. We think that if we change our view on something, that people will think less of us or make fun of us. We have taken this to extremes when we deny facts presented by experts and ignore the evidence that we are wrong about something. So, instead, we dismiss the facts and experts as having hidden motives or agendas to their results, even when an entire community of experts has agreed. We cling to people who are not experts who place unfounded doubt on a subject's facts so that change can be stopped. We can remain in our current way of thinking. No reason to change if the facts aren't there. It hasn't been proven.
But sometimes it has. Sometimes the proof is there. We can change. I will not make fun of you. I will help you if needed. I have been there. I have to change to. We all make mistakes and we can all change, young and old, liberal and conservative, college educated and dropouts. We are all human. We share the experience of life. The experience of change.
P.S. Check out this song... it's called "Be the Change" by Kat Edmonson (Pause or mute the music player on the side before pressing play.)
