I had the privilege of conversing with the best teacher in town (BT) last night, and we were discussing the issue of 'thinking'. Boring topic you may say, but hear me out.

BT is of the opinion that people find it difficult to think for a start because of sluggishness. When pressed further for an explanation for the choice of word, BT expounded that thinking is akin to the stretching of muscles, in this case the muscles of the brain (assuming there are, we are no biologists here). The more we exercise the muscles, the better it develops and ultimately, it will function fully as God intends it.

Few of us are born to be a genius like Einstein but that does not mean it excludes us from having to think. Generally, we blame it on our educational system for not teaching us how to think, but why don't we begin to look at the man in the mirror? Do we even bother to learn to 'think' by exercising the brain muscles? Are we always waiting to be spoon fed or do we bother to look for information and digest the information then check it with others? When faced with any given situation, do we run to an older sibling, parent, teacher or anyone but ourselves to give us a solution or to decide for us, to exculpate us from the difficulty of having to think through the options or finally to take the blame for having taken a course of action?

It is a degenerating disease that is slowly seeping through the fabrics of societies, the raising up of generations of non thinkers. Am speaking for myself, I am LAZY to think, it hurts my brain if I have to sit down and mull over facts before forming an opinion, I'd rather jump to any conclusion haphazardly without having to justify it. When asked for the grounds of my conclusion, that's when the rubber hits the road, I cannot appear to be smart anymore, I have to confess that it is a matter of flipping the coin at times.

The alarming thing about this disease is that it is not that apparent. One can be scoring straight 'As' throughout schooling years, but not learn to think. It was just a matter of remembering and recalling the right substance for the right question. It doesn't take a genius. However, the real test comes at the work place, when situation changes everyday, unexpected events call for a bending of knowledge and wisdom to address the issue at hand. Then and only then is one exposed for the lack of thoroughness in the thought process; and the crippling effect of having been mother cuddled by a hosts of well meaning protective figures in our lives is apparent. What do we do then? Throw our hands in the air and give up in despair and disgust? NO! It's time to put on the thinking cap and learn to think from basics. One baby step at a time, daily choose to think about certain issue or subject matter, by learning to look at different angles and search for different approaches. And one day, hopefully, we may find that we have subconsciously learned the art of thinking and on our way of recovery from the bug of sluggishness.

And while we are at it, just be humble, be willing to take correction. The worst specie on earth is those who don't know much but are quick to proffer opinion and point out the flaws of others. Those who know much instead choose to keep quiet and give an input when asked. There is much weight to the idiom "empty vessels make the most noise".