Two Illuminating Stories

I witnessed the two following stories and pondered on their lessons and I am sharing them with you. You may find other wisdoms from them and I hope you share them.

Few of my friends and I shared a flat. One night a friend of us joined us for a night as early in the morning he was flying out. Our guest kept nagging for fear he would miss his plane. So, we secretly decided to play cards to pastime with an intention. We agreed that one of us would turn the light switch behind him so that we had total darkness. We would continue playing cards as if it was daylight. We did. The light was turned off. We continued playing. Suddenly, our guest started screaming "I am blind, I am blind. I can see nothing".

The story didn't end there. Having found out he was tricked the guest decided to go to bed. When he started snoring loudly we decided to play a different game. This time, we turned all the lights in the flat on as if it was daylight. We awakened our guest and started confusing him with messages that he was about to miss his flight. He dressed up very quickly, hurriedly carrying his suitcase and hardly finding the time to say goodbye. As soon as he went outdoors he realized it was still very dark. He knew he was tricked again. He came back cursing us.

Groupthink has its influence. Our friend was influenced by our continuing to play cards and thought he was blind. Groupthink may blind us and make us lose our identity, authenticity and senses. Groupthink effect might prolong as the same person fell in its trap twice in one night. This exemplifies the fact that we may switch off the light bulbs in our minds and think we are blind. Separating our minds from our senses is like switching off lights in a room. The darkness of the room doesn't mean we are blind; it s the darkness of separating our logic from our senses that lead us to think so.

This exemplifies the fact that we may switch off the light bulbs in our minds and think we are blind
Ali Anani, PhD 

Having light in the room doesn't mean it is daylight outside; in contrast it could be very dark. We need our senses to work with our brains to reach at the right conclusions; else we start behaving wrongly by making wrong assumptions. To be tricked twice in the same night means that the person extended the same mistake: blind because it was dark surrounding him and light outside because it was like daylight inside.

Having light in the room doesn't mean it is daylight outside; in contrast it could be very dark
Ali Anani, PhD

Darkness may lead us blind; so does daylight. It is not only darkness that makes us unable to see reality. Daylight may do the same. We need to sense both together. We don't have darkness without the brightness of the day. Likewise; we don't have the light of discovery without having the darkness of the unknown. They work together. It is us who want the light without the darkness and the result is ending up living in darkness. Who shall switch the lights on?

Darkness may lead us blind; so does daylight. It is not only darkness that makes us unable to see reality. Daylight may do the same
Ali Anani, PhD