Most people take great care when walking. After all, stepping on a nail can injure the foot. And stepping in mud can leave the foot unclean.
This makes sense to me and yet I am often surprised to see how little care people take with their minds. Is it not true that our minds require the utmost care to avoid damage? When we step into certain thoughts we risk injury to our most precious of possessions — our character. Racial biases, xenophobia, and unreasoned superstitious beliefs are scattered everywhere throughout the world and we must take care to avoid them, lest they turn us into the very thing we may once have despised.
Insofar as it makes sense to watch where we step to avoid damaging our feet, it seems to make equal sense to exercise caution with our minds. Let’s put reason first and let it keep our minds safe. In doing so we maintain the worthiness of our character.
- Socrates
