| You want dumb as a brick? You want too dense | | | | target. |
| to get out of their own way? Get yourself | | | | |
| some sheep. | | | | And if sheep fall into moving water, they |
| | | | drown. Their coats, heavy to begin with, |
| Quarry rocks have higher IQs than sheep. In | | | | absorb water rapidly, adding poundage by the |
| any cavalcade of dumb things, sheep always | | | | second, and sheep can't swim. Here's where we |
| lead the parade. | | | | have to give sheep a little credit. Sheep |
| | | | fear moving water and won't drink from a lake |
| Animal lovers argue about animal | | | | or stream unless the water is still. That's |
| intelligence. Pigs, they say, are really | | | | probably more instinct than common sense, but |
| intelligent. Horses, too. Dog lovers discuss | | | | it's something. |
| the intelligence of various breeds-with their | | | | |
| dog in the top group, of course. | | | | All in all, sheep are pretty pitiful. |
| | | | |
| But nobody argues about the intelligence of | | | | So why do we insist on imitating them? Follow |
| sheep. Let's face it. There's dumb. There's | | | | the crowd, even into disaster? Have to be |
| dumber. Then there are sheep. | | | | told to do what's good for us? Allow |
| | | | predators to eat us for lunch because we |
| Sheep spend their days munching grass. Hour | | | | won't fight back? Even sheep have sense |
| after hour, munching grass. It sounds | | | | enough not to barge into situations that will |
| pleasantly pastoral, but this constant | | | | overwhelm them. |
| munching creates problems. | | | | |
| | | | We imitate sheep because sheepness is a part |
| Wandering from grass clump to grass clump, | | | | of what we are, a part we have to overcome. |
| sheep chew away without looking up. Focused | | | | |
| only on the next green clump-and with | | | | Let me drop a big name here: In the Bible, |
| severely limited vision to start with-they | | | | Jesus says we're all like sheep and gives a |
| may not notice the rest of the herd hanging a | | | | rundown of what that means. It's not a pretty |
| left just when they've spotted a juicy morsel | | | | picture. We might want to jump to our |
| to the right-and another, and another, and so | | | | defense, except he isn't insulting us, just |
| on. Then they're lost, wandering around in a | | | | pointing out a universal, life-limiting |
| daze, bleating. But still grazing. | | | | propensity we all need to overcome. |
| | | | |
| Prompt rescue is necessary. Sheep can't | | | | We overcome our sheeply tendencies by |
| digest all their grazing until they lie down. | | | | discovering the gifts and talents that make |
| But sheep don't have sense enough to lie | | | | us unique, then stretching to maximize all |
| down, even when their aching, expanding girth | | | | that potential. We think rather than feel our |
| signals impending doom. You have to make them | | | | way through life-something sheep could never |
| lie down for their own good. | | | | do. We take responsibility for |
| | | | ourselves-another sheep impossibility. And we |
| Then we have their inherent "follower" | | | | don't bleat all the time. |
| nature. Sheep life is one long game of | | | | |
| follow-the-leader. The lead sheep heads over | | | | Recognizing our sheepness problem can show us |
| a cliff? No problem. The whole herd follows | | | | the way to solve it. If we choose to. Do we |
| without a bleat-if, that is, it happens | | | | want to drift from one unnecessary difficulty |
| during a moment when they're paying attention | | | | to another, hoping somebody will rescue us |
| instead of getting lost following a | | | | from ourselves, or are we willing to do the |
| grass-clump trail. | | | | heavy lifting required to live a life of |
| | | | purpose and meaning? One advantage we have |
| Also, sheep are helpless against predators. | | | | over sheep is we get to choose. |
| If a wolf gets in the sheep pen, sheep don't | | | | |
| fight back. They don't try to get away. They | | | | © Copyright 2007 by Bette Dowdell. All |
| don't spread out. They huddle together, as if | | | | rights reserved. |
| to give the wolf an easier, more cohesive | | | | |