I Stand Corrected!
Is it early Alzheimer's or is this baby eating my brain? I stand corrected on two things I posted in the last two days.
Not that anyone else will probably care, but I hate making mistakes or giving misinformation. When I was young, I had a habit of exaggerating or embellishing the truth (doesn't every kid?) But I lived in a bit of a fantasy world and often tried to portray things in such a way that was either a.) More flattering to yours truly b.) Less flattering to people I didn't like or c.) Made my life sound better than it really was.
When I became serious about following Jesus, it became clear in time that this sort of thing had to go. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and their unique perspective, but the truth is the truth. The Lord made it very clear to me that there were no gray areas there. I loved Him and wanted to be more like him, so I made the decision to stop elaborating and refrain from saying things or telling stories that I didn't know were 100% true. As time went on I realized there were certain stories that I had refashioned so effectively that I wasn't even sure where the line was between my facts and my fiction. So I had to stop telling them. A couple times I caught myself in mid-sentence and realized I had to stop and say, "You know what, that might not be true. That's the way I remember it, but that might not be how it actually was."
It was embarrassing sure, but worth it to live an honest and accountable life. Remembering how I used to be brings so much shame. When I contrast that with the freedom and tranquility that are the byproducts of living and speaking truthfully, there is no question which is better. So I try to police myself rather diligently when it comes to telling it like it is, not as I'd like it to be. Part of my self discipline is to keep accountable for everything I say, and promptly correcting myself even when I make honest mistakes.
Anyway, that little personal confession aside, I realized last night on the way to the show that I was mistaken about which Arthur Miller play it was that I saw Richard Kiley perform. This morning I did some research and realized my memory had failed me again. He did not play Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. I saw him play Joe Keller in All My Sons. Just wanted to set the record straight on that. (I did revise the original post where I mentioned this.)
The second correction Mr. F brought to my attention. In the post This and That I said we were watching a repeat of Game 4 of the ALCS the other night. In fact it was Game 5. Game 4 ended with David Ortiz finishing off a similarly agonizing at bat with glorious home run into the right field stands. Game 5 ended with the single that scored Johnny Damon.
These were honest errors, but boy they were bugging me. I feel better now about setting the record straight. Thanks for bearing with me!
When I became serious about following Jesus, it became clear in time that this sort of thing had to go. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and their unique perspective, but the truth is the truth. The Lord made it very clear to me that there were no gray areas there. I loved Him and wanted to be more like him, so I made the decision to stop elaborating and refrain from saying things or telling stories that I didn't know were 100% true. As time went on I realized there were certain stories that I had refashioned so effectively that I wasn't even sure where the line was between my facts and my fiction. So I had to stop telling them. A couple times I caught myself in mid-sentence and realized I had to stop and say, "You know what, that might not be true. That's the way I remember it, but that might not be how it actually was."
It was embarrassing sure, but worth it to live an honest and accountable life. Remembering how I used to be brings so much shame. When I contrast that with the freedom and tranquility that are the byproducts of living and speaking truthfully, there is no question which is better. So I try to police myself rather diligently when it comes to telling it like it is, not as I'd like it to be. Part of my self discipline is to keep accountable for everything I say, and promptly correcting myself even when I make honest mistakes.
Anyway, that little personal confession aside, I realized last night on the way to the show that I was mistaken about which Arthur Miller play it was that I saw Richard Kiley perform. This morning I did some research and realized my memory had failed me again. He did not play Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. I saw him play Joe Keller in All My Sons. Just wanted to set the record straight on that. (I did revise the original post where I mentioned this.)
The second correction Mr. F brought to my attention. In the post This and That I said we were watching a repeat of Game 4 of the ALCS the other night. In fact it was Game 5. Game 4 ended with David Ortiz finishing off a similarly agonizing at bat with glorious home run into the right field stands. Game 5 ended with the single that scored Johnny Damon.
These were honest errors, but boy they were bugging me. I feel better now about setting the record straight. Thanks for bearing with me!
posted by Feeble Knees at
3:46 PM
TrackBack URL for this post: http://haloscan.com/tb/feebleknees/110832757599217991