Posts Tagged ‘negative thinking’

July 18, 1984. People walking along the street that Wednesday in Detroit were probably a little startled when it suddenly began raining … clothes … books … small kitchen appliances … furniture … a bicycle … a stove … a refrigerator.

For three hours, unemployed auto worker Nelson Jones dumped the contents of his 16th-floor apartment onto the street as crowds watched and a television crew captured the drama for the evening news. When it ended, police charged Jones with littering. As his niece later noted, “Everyone has their off days.”

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We all have hidden talents. Mine is mind-reading. Somehow I can discern—without any meaningful evidence—when people disapprove of, or disagree with, something I’m saying or doing. It’s an amazing skill. And what’s truly amazing is how many of my friends share this wonderful gift. In fact, the world seems to be a thriving hive of mind-readers.

We mind-readers could be a useful or dangerous bunch … if we were any good at our hidden talent. But usually when we decide what other people are thinking, we couldn’t be further from the truth. And if we act on our fanciful imaginings, we only wind up hurting ourselves … as blues legend B.B. King once discovered. In a 1997 interview with writer Kira Albin for Grand Times magazine, King shared how his mind-reading skill combined with his love for potato pies to create a painful childhood moment.

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