Looking at my countertop weather station the other day, I realized information can be right and wrong at the same time. The device is usually accurate enough to plan for what to wear for the day. On this particular morning, the date, time, and temperature were correct, but not the actual weather. The digital picture showed a perky flower under a sunny sky. The depiction couldn’t have been further from the truth. All it took was a look out the window or a momentary listen to know it was pouring outside.
The point is not everything we see or hear is true. Even the most reliable sources get it wrong sometimes. The weather station was telling me what I wanted to believe: that it was a bright, sunshiny day, but the opposite was true. The following day was just as wrong, only in reverse. The sun outside contradicted and trumped the rainy picture. Two days in a row, I had to discover for myself what was really happening outside my window. Though I couldn’t control the weather either day, I could at least plan accordingly.
It’s easy to believe the first thing we hear and look no further, especially when the information is to our liking. Taking into consideration different sources portrays more realistic answers. The truth is always somewhere in between what the weather is doing and what it is reported to be doing. Even though my trusty informant is most often accurate and unintentionally misleading, I find it wise to pull back the blinds and see for myself. There is no sense in applying sunscreen when the weather calls for an umbrella. It might not be what you want to hear, but the most reliable truth is what you verify on your own.
