Welcome to the shoppe! Please pick up your items in the isles (we will be receiving stock any day now), and line up at the counter when you are ready to leave.
Also, please be advised that anything that you come to purchase here may or may not be completely as advertised (although we do our best). Some products are somewhat new and haven’t got any kind of customer base yet, but anything that you do leave with is 100% refundable at any time.
Before you leave, I would like to warn you about the merchandise you are leaving here with. Some of these products may require you to change your normal thought process, or ask you to try something new. This must be expected, because there is nothing worth purchasing here unless it changes your life in some small, maybe even meaningless way.
In this store, my beliefs and theories are the merchandise that you’ve come here to purchase. I cannot and will never guarantee infallibility. These are my musings and suppositions that I try as hard as I can to find opposition to, so that I may learn from you.
Please read the following.
A belief is always held for a reason; this is not to say that it is a reasonable belief, because it usually isn't, but there is always a reason that you believe the way that you do. A common failing that people seem to have, is the belief that everyone should hold the same beliefs that you do for the same reasons. People will always expect others to have solid reasons for beliefs that contradict your own. It is also common to discount other's beliefs, sometimes immediately, because they seem completely unreasonable or wholly unjustifiable.
HOWEVER,
Many beliefs that are unconsidered could be explained simply if the individuals take the time to learn. Whatever the belief is, it is based on a truth known by that individual. If we ever want to actually learn anything, we must learn about our own and others’ beliefs.
Read this example, and this is an extremely general example about an obvious belief, just so you get the point. Other beliefs are many times more subtle or taken for granted, but please consider this:
A man believes that there is an ancient creature living in a lake, in the United Kingdom. This man has seen photographs with strange shapes, he has heard stories of men who believe to have seen the creature and he has theories that he thinks are plausible.
The truth this man believes in is not the infallibility of photographs, or of witnesses or seemingly reasonable theories. To debate this with him, would merely breed contention, and both would walk away angry and more adamant about their own beliefs.
The fundamental truth that you could learn would be faith. This man does not know if the creature exists at all, but he has faith in what he can’t know and searches for signs of its truth. As misdirected as it may be, this is an essential characteristic in the search for true knowledge and belief.
To further that last story, if you were to help this man learn about paleontology he would be able to keep his faith, redirect it and learn more truths. In the process neither one has lost faith (or face, in pointless argument), both have grown in understanding and wisdom, they live happily ever after whether the creature exists or not, the end.
If all were so inclined we could share the truths that we know, and learn from every single person’s beliefs. It takes an effort to understand someone else, and to find the basest truths behind their beliefs. I hope to share what I believe and I hope to learn what you believe in the process.
So whether you come back to my shop or not, please take this free sample with you and remember; it’s always better to give your understanding than to get praise and glory from always being right in your own eyes.
Here’s your receipt, have a great day!
Xer0
