Hunting Our Perceived Faults
I have been hunting knowledge for many years now. I like to watch, observe and track. Knowledge is not an easy pray: it moves, shifts, even hides at times. One never knows where knowledge is hiding and so, I have gone on many unknown trails, sniffing around and listening. The hunt for knowledge happens all day long. Knowledge can be anywhere.
Wishing to hunt knowledge is not enough though. At the same time that a hunter of knowledge hunts for information, he/she has to also act impeccably. Thus, a hunter of knowledge has to hunt his/her own faults as well. Hunting our faults is not an easy task but it is a necessary one and one which must be taken seriously.
I remember perhaps over a decade ago, when I first picked-up Michael Moore’s book “Stupid White Men: And Other Excuses for the State of the Nation” (
What I did decide to do after reading Michael Moore’s thoughts and encouragement to behave like I actually had some manners, was to better that perceived fault of mine. Every time I entered a washroom, I thought: “Stupid White Men - Put the seat cover down when done, wash hands and leave”. I was hunting for that perceived fault of neglecting the proper way of using a toilet.
I did not count the days or months but it did not take long to get that habit under control. Now many years after that entire experience, it is just a simple habit to put the toilet seat cover down and wash my hands before leaving a washroom. I no longer have to think about “Stupid White Men” or Michael Moore.
Another perceived fault (which I am still working on) in terms of my own behavior is that I can often talk too much. Maybe it is the Latino blood, or maybe I have verbal diarrhea (excuse the language) sometimes – either way, I think it is best that I learn to shut-up more often. Thus, lately I pay a lot more attention to when, why and how I speak. I am hunting for that perceived fault of “speaking too much”. Without being cocky, I must say that this is slowly working-out.
At this point in my life, I am actually having fun with my perceived faults. I hunt for them and when I see them, I laugh! I remember the excitement of playing hide and seek as a kid and finding someone’s hiding spot. I get a similar excitement when I hunt down my faults and find them hiding. Success! And on I go hunting some more.
