On The Suspension of Disbelief

(This was written by a friend of mine, Michael Costello, I thought it was very neat, so he gave permission for me to post it here.  Enjoy!  ~ Raven)

You know, it's funny but, I know people who would jump at the chance to tell that guy how ridiculous his story was and what a freak he must be, but I run across this stuff all the time and I always ask myself, "What would be the point, besides just generating a lot of hard feelings?"
 
 Some people just don't bother to stop and ask themselves, "What difference does it make how ridiculous a story is?"
 
 It's almost as if they feel like they can't "let someone get away with conning them", because if they're forced to allow their imagination to wander for a moment, it's going to damage their brain somehow.
 
 These are the people who won't allow themselves to have an interest in cryptids or the paranormal and if you were to examine their lives, I'd bet you'd find out that they're suspicious of all the wrong things, anyway.
 
 As a member of unknowncreaturespot , there have been a number of occasions when someone related an experience that even I, with my wild imagination, had a hard time with.


 I've given this a lot of thought and the conclusion I've arrived at is that this can go in three different directions.


 #1. You can be completely gullible and believe everything that crosses your path, despite all the red flags.


 #2. You can be completely suspicious and miss out on a lot that life has to offer.


 #3. In cases where it makes no difference and no one gets hurt, you can just run with it.


 It's my opinion that, there's gullibility and then there's the "suspension of disbelief", because doing so, hurts no one.
 
 Personally, if someone can tell a colorful story and make it interesting, I don't have a problem with letting my imagination run with it for a moment. Ultimately, it's my decision as to whether I want to believe it or not. Frequently, I do, for no other reason than, it's fun.
 
 Besides, you never know.
 
 It might actually be true. Mike
 
 Michael L. Costello
 Copyright (c) 2007