Beech Tree News Network

Thoughts: The Practical Side.
    I suppose psychologists do good work if they leven in a large helping horse sense to go along with the theories and mechanics of their craft. Too, if they consult with God from time to time.
 
    The reason I say horse sense, I knew a young woman who engaged a psychologist regarding her depression, mood swings-what not. His perception, although she had never smoked, was that she take up smoking. She did, get a pack of cigarettes and learned to smoke. She became a heavy smoker-three packs a day. She died before her time. She was my wife Bett's youngest sister- a lovely person but gone too soon.

    The horse sense or the practical side of psychology will sometimes work when the lofty theories fail to bring good results. There's an old story about a boy-child in a toy store. He got on a rocking-horse and would not get off. His parents begged and pled, and tried to reason with him. He stayed. The parents called in their church pastor. He counseled the boy. The horse rider stayed in the saddle. They called in his grandparents-they went through the same routine as the parents. He still stayed.

    After all, attempts had failed, they called in a child psychologist. He immediately went over and whispered into the boy's ear. The boy quickly jumped off. "What did you say to him?" the surprised parents wanted to know. "Please tell us." "I merely told him if he didn't get his kiester off that horse, I was going to knock his block off... that's the practical side.

    Sometimes the practical side can help us make the right choices for the better. Abraham Lincoln was once defending a Springfield woman charged with killing her husband. She was a battered woman. Lincoln knew this. He also knew she feared for her life... the husband had threatened to kill her. His efforts to get her off looked bleak. So bleak in fact he called for a short recess to "consult" with his client. The judge granted him ten minutes. He ushered the woman into a ground floor back room, all the while not knowing what to tell her. When they got to the room, the woman complained of being thirsty and needing a drink of water. Then Lincoln practical side took over: He walked over, raised a window to the top and said: "I'm told they have awful good water in Tennesee."

                                                                          Kindest regards......