The last two days have been wonderful. We leave tomorrow, have been here since Thursday and have used a little over half of our 45 gallons of water. That is with taking our showers, flushing the toilet and doing dishes, but using the water very conservatively we can get by on so little. The weather has been wonderful but not too hot or cold at 5,900 feet, in the mid 80’s during the day and the low 50’s at night. Even being a big holiday weekend this spot we found has been mostly empty. It is on a little used highway and the campground doesn’t have water at all, so most people pass those up, we are tucked up away from everyone and we can’t hardly hear generators or barking dogs. This morning on our walk up the hill we saw two small horned lizards and lots of deer track.
This following was part of an e-magazine I get once a week called RV Traveler and I think of it often because I think it illustrates beautifully how complacent we human beings have become and explains why so much stays the same. We humans just trot along like lambs hardly ever questioning those we follow.
By Chuck Woodbury
Why do we do things a certain way without knowing why? Do you ever accept "truths" told to you by a parent or friend? When you ask someone why you should do something a certain way, and get the response, "because that's the way it's always done," do you just accept that answer or question it?
Permit me to tell a short story: An animal researcher put four gorillas in a big cage, their new home. Beginning the next day and for each day thereafter, he lowered a bunch of bananas into the cage. When the gorillas grabbed for the bananas, the researcher sprayed them all with a high-pressure hose that caused great pain. Even if only one of the animals went for the bananas, they all got hosed. Soon, the smartest gorillas began restraining those who still grabbed for the fruit. Before long, all knew to leave the bananas alone to avoid the awful punishment.
Then, the researcher pulled one of the gorillas from the cage, replacing it with another one, which, of course, grabbed for the tasty bananas when offered. But the other three gorillas, knowing the painful consequences, held the new gorilla back. Soon, the new gorilla avoided the bananas, too.
One by one, each of the original gorillas was replaced with a new one. Each time, the newbie was physically restrained when grabbing for the bananas.
Finally, the last original gorilla was removed from the cage leaving four gorillas that knew nothing of the powerful hose.
The last arrival, like those before him, quickly learned to avoid the fruit. And so it came to be that none of the animals went for it.
A human observing the scene at this point might wonder "Why don't they eat those bananas?" If the gorillas could speak, they might say, "we don't eat them because that's the way it must be," with no further comment.
Ask yourself. What do you do in your daily lives "because it's always done that way?" Think of the gorillas. You might find that you don't have a clue, other than someone told you so.
Worth contemplating don't you think?
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