Learning Why

A woman preparing her Thanksgiving meal cut the end off a large slab of meat and put the results in a baking dish. Seasoned, it started cooking. Her youngest child asked why she cut the end off, and her reply was the commonly heard, “Because.” Why? Because.

Without a good answer, she called her mom with the question. The mom said, “I don’t know.” Why? I don’t know.

So the mom called her mom, the child’s grandmother, with the original question. Why? “Well, of course, my pan wasn’t big enough!” Why? Pan size!

I remember reading this story several decades ago. It has stuck with me through the years to identify the root of why we do what we do. To find an answer, we often must track back generations to find out the “why.”

It’s easy to get stuck with a task and never know the “why.”

Did you know there was a time when your shoes were interchangeable? Someone took some time to determine it’s best if the feet were different on the left and right, and so should the shoes! That’s a “why” you never knew you needed to question!

Why do we motivate ourselves every day? Just as with a bath, there’s a reason. Yesterday’s motivation can become stale and a little stinky. (Something like this came from Zig Ziglar.)

Why do we read the Bible? To learn God’s Word and how to apply it to our life. Is a single reading enough? No! It needs to be read every day. Our memory cells always die off, and you can’t remember everything!

I’m a quizzical and analytical person.

Learning why is a process of growth. Some things can change, while others should not. Some things will change only after we move so far down the trail of new things that will support better ways of doing things.

Doing: I’m thinking about Ford and their better idea, a light bulb turns on long after their founder built cars differently and more successfully than others. Today? It’s so automated and robot-driven that the reality of 100 years of motivation and reinvention of the proverbial wheel would barely be recognized in yesterday’s world.

Going: Why does everyone go to the store the same way? What if I learned alternate routes in case the way is blocked or I want a change of scenery? Then, my “why” for going to the store is that I enjoy the journey of opportunities!

Timing: If you grew up as I did, Sunday School always started at 9:45 a.m. Why? Some said it was so the farmers could finish morning chores and have time to get dressed for church. Why not 10:00 a.m.?

Others control us: Why must we finish our Income Taxes by April 15th? That’s a weird question because no one can understand the government!

Life Can Change

Life is full of mundane and quirky tasks, but so few ask, “Why?”

Were all the reasons manifested, we could change the world! Streamlining production, creating more effective routines, and acknowledging there are shortcuts we never knew because we were stuck with just doing instead of questioning “why?”

The longer you do, without ever comprehending “why,”
The longer you will keep doing until the “why” is lost
Through antiquity and time, and just staying used to your old ways.
“That’s how it’s been done for years…,” you’ll brag to the future.

Why change anything? It’s always been like this.
But someone will find a new way, and you’ll shrug it off.
My way is the law. Do it, or find somewhere else to live and work.
We kick the new way to the curb. We’re okay with that.

Have you ever been in the south, where cicada shells dot the landscape?
We used to collect them, the refuse of an insect who decides it’s time to change.
Like a butterfly exiting a cocoon, stretch those wings! Fly!
Quickly, I shrug myself out of the old and hardened shell. Fly! Change!

Suppose you don’t know your “why,” you’ll never enjoy the scent of the hunt nor the joy of a new path. Your journey will be staid, but mine? Always fresh. Because I’m always looking for reasons why, so the path forward can change.

Thank you for reading.
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