I Have Seen The Walls Of China
I Have Seen The Rains In Spain
But I Have Never Seen Good Loving
In A Life That Is Rack With Pain
I Have Seen The Sun On The Horizon
As It Exchanged Kisses With The Sea
But I Have Never Seen Happiness
In A Heart That Was Not Set Free
I Have Lived Inside Of My Insecurities
I Have Been Trapped By A Weaken Mind
But I Kept Thinking To Myself
That Everything Changes With Time
I Have Known Mistreatment
By Humans Full Of Hate
I Have Been A Victim Of Calumnies
But I Never Gave Up My Faith
I Have Faced The Bullets Of Criticism
I Have Been Called By Another Name
I Have Seen My Fire Distinguished
But I Had No One But Me To Blame
I Have Spoken To The High And Mighty
I Have Lived With The Common Man
If Receive An Opportunity
I Will Do The Best I Can
On The Landscape Of My Living
Lives The Hyenas Against My Hope
To Avoid The Predators Along My Path
I Must Travel On The Slippery Slope
To Achieve The Goals I Am Seeking
I Must Travel Through Swampy Land
When My Self-Confidence Is Challenged
I Must Take My Strongest Stand
PHILLIP RHODES
FRUITS OF FRESH THINKING
If Our Thinking Remains Standing Still
And We Refuse To Objectively Examine
The Established Thoughts
We Inherited From Other Humans
Then Our Knowledge Base With Shrink
And We Will Be Unable To Enjoy
The Fruits Of Fresh Thinking
Both The Scholar And The Student
Have A Tendency To Focus On Information
That Confirms The Theories Or Opinions
That They Already Hold
We Are Inclined To Embrace Ideas
That Are Consistent With The Views
Espoused By Our Parents
And Routinely Taught To Us
By Our Pastors, Professors
And Other Influence Peddlers
Most Of Us Are Afraid Or Suspicious
Of Intellectual Adventures
That Expose Us To New Ways Of Knowing
And We Have No Strong Desires To Question
The Assertions Of Our Superiors
We Are Reluctant To Change Our Mental Positions
Unless A Novel Thoughts Is Endorsed
By Individuals We Greatly Admire
Or By People We Respect
Because Of Their Talents And Credentials
To Preserve Our Mental Comfort Zones
Within Which Our Narrow Thoughts Thrives
And To Convince Our Audience
That Our Subjective Assertions Are Factual
As Long As Our Minds Remain Closed
To The Intrusion Of New Truths
And We Refuse To Objectively Examine
Conventional Wisdom And Traditional Truths
We Are Unlikely To Discover New Knowledge
PHILLIP RHODES