Conditioned.
The four men, as they sat around the table, came to the conclusion that it was good to recognise that all of their lives in one way or another, they had been conditioned.
They had been conditioned not just by ideology, but by accepted practices.
Two of the men, Tim and John, had been heavily steeped in the tradition. Their parents had been a part of it as had their grandparents. It was all they knew and they had never thought to confront it or challenge it.
Greg had come across things in his teenage years. Although his parents never bothered, they didn’t mind when Greg’s friend Tim invited him to experience it. Greg turned up for one meeting and thought it was good fun. Then after a while, Greg asked questions about what was going on and with the help of Tim, John and a few others, he felt compelled to be a part of this. He liked to think he had a mind of his own, but acknowledged that he did depend a lot on some of those who had been a part of the tradition for a considerable period of time.
Simon was the in the same age group as the other men. He had come to know John through the workplace. John had worked there for years and had not come across anyone in the office who was in any way inclined to the tradition. When Simon had joined the company, it was a chance meeting with John and a conversation over a beverage that got John excited to come across someone who shared a similar interest.
There was something about Simon that was a bit odd, a little bit unconventional. When Simon visited their meetings, he didn’t seem to be as fully engaged with the activities as the others. Yet he still kept turning up as a courtesy to John, but there appeared to be something more. John picked it up in the occasion comment that Simon made. And during the week Simon would ask John some questions that he had not considered before.
The conversations grew all the more intriguing as the weeks went by. Simon wasn’t giving away much and didn’t let look to impose is own views. He appeared far more interested in discovering John’s view. It didn’t take John to take up some of the issues with Tim in their chats. And seeing as though the John, Tim and Greg would often enjoy some golf on a weekend, those conversations would seep into those. Eventually the three of them thought it would be good to have Simon join them to find out more.
Simon was an absolute beginner when it came to golf, yet he was content enough to get a second-hand set of clubs and a rough introduction to the sport, so he could at least look barely competent with his new friends. Thankfully those friends were not too hard on him when it came to getting used to the game, they were patient and encouraging. They appreciated that there were new things he had to acclimatise himself to in order to practice the game well.
As they met in the bar afterwards, there Simon pointed out how the three had been conditioned to play the game. He shared how his sport was rugby and Greg chimed in that he was keen on the sport. The two shared banter on the sport with Tim and John giving the glazed look of outsiders looking at two people revel about something they knew next to nothing about.
Before Simon and Greg got too far carried away, Simon pointed out to the two ‘outsiders’ how he and Greg were conditioned for their perspective on their joy of the sport. Simon said that to get agreement that in a lot of things in life we are conditioned.
The other three men chuckled.
The four men, as they sat around the table, came to the conclusion that it was good to recognise that all of their lives in one way or another, they had been conditioned.
They had been conditioned not just by ideology, but by accepted practices.
It was then that Simon asked the question …
(to be continued)
(Photo by Scott Warman on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 