A man was visiting with his
wife's relatives on a hot Texas day. As they sat around
sipping lemonade and playing checkers someone suggested they
drive into Abilene for dinner. Then with one thing and
another, they all ended up getting into a hot car, driving
over an hour into town and finding the restaurant they wanted
to eat in was closed that day.
After a mediocre meal they
got into the hot car for the return drive. They were all
irritable and began to accuse each other. 'You were the
one who wanted to do this!' 'Me? Are you kidding?
It was your idea. I just came along because you wanted
to come.' And so forth.
It turned out that nobody
had wanted to go to Abilene at all. Each of them had
gone along to please someone else.
Don't let yourself go to
Abilene. If you are not in agreement with a plan or
disagree with a decision, be sure to let others know.
They may think you are cranky, but more often you will find
that there are others who do not want to go to Abilene
either. If the majority still want to go, fine. Go
along and stop complaining. But be willing to stick your
neck out to test the conditions.
