Hard Headed

People just never seem to learn. In our modern society, we have access to so much information. The complete moral, religious and political history of modern man is available, quite literally, at the click of a button. Educational television shows us all the mistakes and triumphs of our past century and beyond. Yet we continue to make the same mistakes as our predecessors, our parents, and forefathers made. So many of us seem unwilling to learn from all that we have observed, even within our own families and circle of friends. I am reminded of the fictional wooden boy named Pinocchio who refused to listen to his conscience over and over again. Interesting that he only became a "real boy" after he learned to make better choices. Perhaps we could take a cue from that little boy and find a way to learn our lessons without having to go through all the pain of failure and defeat. It might be worth a try, and it all begins with a willingness to "always let your conscience be your guide."

Pinocchio
We all know the fairy tale
About the little wooden boy
Who came to life, the story goes
Though he was just a toy
Who, lacking in experience
Always got in trouble when
He ventured out into the world
Failing time and time again
Yet, I find myself considering
How much he's like me and you
Since, far too often, we become
A little wooden-headed too
For all our education
Our religion and our years
Our words and actions often place
Pinocchio among our peers
Indeed, if we are truly honest
About such very simple things
We find that, like the wooden boy
We even have the strings
When we don't listen to our father
Who knows what's best for us
We wind up in predicaments
Which hurt him and betray our trust
Yet, life can be so simple
If our conscience we obey
If we listen to our father
And come home to him each day
When we don't, we wind up lost
Or tangled in our strings again
Because we all get a little
Wooden-headed now and then

By Frank Carpenter ©