<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst ponder, then dare\u201d (Helmuth von Moltke).<\/p>\n
IT\u2019S TRUE THAT MOST OF US NEED TO BE MORE ADVENTURESOME, BUT IT\u2019S ALSO TRUE THAT WE NEED TO PONDER OUR DEEDS BEFORE WE DO THEM. As von Moltke says, the correct order of action is \u201cFirst ponder, then dare.\u201d And the more consequential the dare, the more profound should be the pondering that precedes it.<\/p>\n
\u201cPonder\u201d comes from the Latin pondus<\/em> (\u201cweight\u201d). It means to consider something carefully. When we ponder, we \u201cweigh\u201d an idea in our minds, thinking how significant it is or, if the thought is one of action, what its outcome might be. Pondering is more than casual thinking \u2014 it is thinking with care and thoroughness.<\/p>\n There is no better way to build credibility than to be a person who ponders things. Living impulsively is not the way to become trustworthy. In fact, we shouldn\u2019t<\/em> have much credibility if we don\u2019t consider things carefully. If we\u2019re known to act rashly, we\u2019ll not be the people our friends turn to in times of need or difficulty. Our carelessness will keep us from being as trusted as we\u2019d like to be.<\/p>\n The notion that ideas can be \u201cweighed\u201d in our minds ought to be of more than passing interest. Contrary to what many seem to think nowadays, not all ideas are equal and interchangeable. Some have more weight than others; that is, some are more true, significant, beneficial, beautiful, and so forth. The challenge in thinking is to discern, by pondering them, which ideas are weighty and which are not. When we\u2019re making decisions, we need to let the weighty ideas count for more and pay less attention to the lighter-weight trivia. And the same principle applies when we\u2019re weighing our words: we should choose wisely between words that are good, better, and best.<\/p>\n Being a person who ponders things may sound pretty dull, as if that person never did anything but think. But the truth is, life is never dull when we\u2019re in a receptive state of mind. Those who take the time to ponder the world and its happenings often find that surprises break into their reveries. When we meditate wisely, we\u2019re not merely passing time; we\u2019re preparing for a breakthrough. Pondering opens our hearts and minds to happy discoveries!<\/p>\n \u201cI keep the subject constantly before me, and wait till the first dawnings open slowly, by little and little, into a full and clear light\u201d (Isaac Newton).<\/p>\n Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n