Patio Pondering: Socrates in the Sheep Barn and the High Plains

It’s another humid August morning here in Northeast Indiana. I am on the patio with a cup of coffee, looking across the landscape at the well-washed oat straw my neighbors have been trying to bale for the past couple of weeks.

My thoughts drift back to a recent podcast conversation with Jerod McDaniel and how his contrarian views offer fresh ways of thinking. It reminds me of something I learned from Mr. Wittenberg in my high school critical thinking class, the Socratic method. You take the opposite position to spark argument or discussion. You may not believe that position; you take it for debate’s sake. In Jerod’s case, it is not an act. He genuinely sees things differently. To some, that is frustrating. To others, it is refreshing.

That thought carried me to the sheep barn at the Indiana State Fair, where I watched class after class of showmen. Every one of them had the same crouch, the same stance, the same push on their lamb, and the same stare at the judge. It made me wonder how anyone could stand out when everyone looked the same.

I thought of our friend Luke Leo, one of the first to develop that low-legged, sprawled-out crouch to show a lamb. Back then, he stood out. Today, he would blend in. Jerod is like Luke was then, seeing the same set of facts as everyone else but reaching conclusions that are entirely his own.

The refreshing part is not about enjoying disagreement. It is about having someone who sparks discussion and makes us step off the worn path simply because everyone else is on it.

Maybe these are heavy thoughts for a morning coffee, but where in your life could you be the contrarian? Where could you look at the same problem from a different angle and find the refreshing answer?