MOVE BEYOND ASSUMPTION

From an adaptation of Charles Osgood’s poem, ‘Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody, ” many may be familiar with this shorter variation :

” There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.”

Why did this story come to mind? Reading today’s Gospel, about the annual trip to the Passover by the Joseph, Mary and Jesus, one statement in St Luke’s Gospel stood out “Assuming He was in their company, they traveled on for a day before they began to look for Him among their relatives and friends” (Luke 2:44). In other words, it took a day of travel to notice Jesus was not with the party because there was an assumption.

Assumptions can thus be a double edged sword: they can inspire action or inaction, fear or faith, courage or sadness. This can affect your dealings with others. What assumptions then are you going by? You may have to move past assumptions to convictions, else you stand on very unsteady ground and it can cost you.

#sly