What's common?

For most of my life, I heard the expression that "you are either street smart or book smart. You can't be both!" In my head, I always tried to rationalize which characteristic fit me better. I liked school. I got decent grades. I was NOT a scholar, but I knew that reading and history were my passions. Did that make me book smart? I also had being an only child on my list. My Mommy kept me close to home. I definitely didn't get a lot of "street" time. My first date? Spring of 1992 - junior year in high school. Some guy who lived across the street from my best friend, who coincidentally lived next door to my cousin...hmmm, I wonder what ever happened to THAT guy? Oh yeah, I married him nine years later.

And, this is where I try to put common sense in it's place. This morning, this advertisement caught my eye (yes, primarily because it is vintage), but it made me question:
WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF COMMON SENSE?

According to Webster's, common sense is "sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts." Well, okay then...If I reason and reflect, then I must have common sense, right? Maybe it is the "female" in me, but I always think too much into everything. So, If Einstein had it correct, he said "common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." Dang! I've been at this for awhile then! I know what I like, what I don't like, and all the stuff in between - but I've been down this road: I know what makes me: ME! Is that common sense? And if the ME in me I know is unique - how can everyone have MY common sense? Okay this is getting a little out of hand. I am confusing MYSELF.

So, back to the ad: "a time when common sense was common" is telling me that people are not thinking things through anymore, today. My mom will be the first one to say that you don't share your information with just anyone. I shouldn't take risks that might make me fall. And then I spend hours in a primary classroom teaching children that making mistakes is the best thing for them --- one can only learn to become better from mistakes. So, if George Bernard Shaw stated that "common sense is instinct; Enough of it is genius", then knowing what to do is the majority of the battle. My conscience will guide me through. Ah, so I get it now. It's that crazy impulse that gets confused with instinct!!

I know about that all too well. I KNOW my son takes right after me. It is the wanting it right here, right now, MY WAY syndrome of my youth. "But it's so much better when I grow up" theology! And if I have learned anything from mistakes over the years it is some of those mistakes that are my best presents today. I'm kind of an open book. So if you know me at all you can probably guess most things about me. Or I'll just tell you because I have a big mouth, but all in all I know what is right for my family; what is correct for me. And in the end I can tell you that I don't give up or give in easy. I put up a fight (just like my kids do with me daily!) ;) My perseverance is ever present, but it is the lesson learned, the reflective skill that I must maintain to stay strong and use my common sense. So, on that note...

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense. -Buddha