What would the creation be like if every person decided to "leave the place in a better state than they found it? Would this led to problem prevention rather than be necessary to problem solving?
What if we believed that no one gets to take more than they give back? What would be different if Emerson's vision was our reality?
"To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."
Oh! Thank you for sharing Emerson’s quote. I haven’t read or shared it in a long time.
A big hearty Yes, and! to your questions. Where I myself, much like Jack Frank, get tripped up is when one man’s generous creation is another’s problem.
For example, what do you think Norman Borlaug’s intent was? What if it was to make lives better… by saving others from starvation? And then some new guy comes along and says, “Wait a minute! There are too many people for earth to support them!”
Is this where Aristotle (or some other Greek 🤷♀️) said man needs to use reason and debate to arrive at most beneficial “truths”?
What about the convenience food industry? Good intent during WWII when people didn’t have time to prepare food. Today we see the stuff is making us fat and sick.
Everything can be this; everything can be that?
I always settle back into faith and hope via presence. If we’re in the now, we’ll know how?
Well, I am always fascinated as to how people interpret every thing through their own filter or as K would say conditioning. Recognizing my own conditioning merely as one vantage point is helpful. It is near impossible though to disconnect ones facts from the attendant emotional state created by attachment to them. The issue of too many people for too few or limited resources is caused by? Whether you agree or disagree about evolution it's a stretch to blame evolution for choices made by humans. We're exhausting our planet/home through and by human action or inaction. Whether individual or collective action is kind of beside the point, It is what we do as a species. Generally speaking we consume more than we give back either restoratively or regeneratively. Unlike the caterpillar we don't have the good sense or manners to turn into butterflies. Nature it is true will respond as it must.
Well, you know how I feel about the concept of "doing my best". It has become kind of a substitute for "I tried". How does Yoda feel about that? "Better than my best" seems to be in order. The evidence is in that our best is simply not good enough. That said, I am a big fan of trying. But trying to be better than my best. Yes/and!
Do actions have consequences? If so, are some consequences more predictable than others? Will I be responsible for consequences of my choices whether those consequences are more or less predictable? Does it make a difference? I choose "A" conduct which has totally unpredictable evil consequences for others am I responsible or not? Careful of the answer that's your choice isn't it?
I’m working on knowing Time a bit better. He is weird, sometimes so unpredictable, sometimes knowing him by the minute. Then I’ve got your post. Thanks. And thanks for the link. So happy to see your fiction book “growing” 💕
Hi Inma! I read Tom Foster’s blog and he has been talking about time recently. Isn’t it wonderful when we fall into places where others are thinking about the same things we are?
What would the creation be like if every person decided to "leave the place in a better state than they found it? Would this led to problem prevention rather than be necessary to problem solving?
What if we believed that no one gets to take more than they give back? What would be different if Emerson's vision was our reality?
"To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."
Oh! Thank you for sharing Emerson’s quote. I haven’t read or shared it in a long time.
A big hearty Yes, and! to your questions. Where I myself, much like Jack Frank, get tripped up is when one man’s generous creation is another’s problem.
For example, what do you think Norman Borlaug’s intent was? What if it was to make lives better… by saving others from starvation? And then some new guy comes along and says, “Wait a minute! There are too many people for earth to support them!”
Is this where Aristotle (or some other Greek 🤷♀️) said man needs to use reason and debate to arrive at most beneficial “truths”?
What about the convenience food industry? Good intent during WWII when people didn’t have time to prepare food. Today we see the stuff is making us fat and sick.
Everything can be this; everything can be that?
I always settle back into faith and hope via presence. If we’re in the now, we’ll know how?
Well, I am always fascinated as to how people interpret every thing through their own filter or as K would say conditioning. Recognizing my own conditioning merely as one vantage point is helpful. It is near impossible though to disconnect ones facts from the attendant emotional state created by attachment to them. The issue of too many people for too few or limited resources is caused by? Whether you agree or disagree about evolution it's a stretch to blame evolution for choices made by humans. We're exhausting our planet/home through and by human action or inaction. Whether individual or collective action is kind of beside the point, It is what we do as a species. Generally speaking we consume more than we give back either restoratively or regeneratively. Unlike the caterpillar we don't have the good sense or manners to turn into butterflies. Nature it is true will respond as it must.
Do you think most people are doing their best?
Well, you know how I feel about the concept of "doing my best". It has become kind of a substitute for "I tried". How does Yoda feel about that? "Better than my best" seems to be in order. The evidence is in that our best is simply not good enough. That said, I am a big fan of trying. But trying to be better than my best. Yes/and!
Was today all knowing? Could he foresee the consequences of every action.
I like to live in this kind of time… knowing I know very little and still showing up and trying to do my best every day.
http://writeonfighton.org/2021/07/29/2-pictures-27-years-apart/
Do actions have consequences? If so, are some consequences more predictable than others? Will I be responsible for consequences of my choices whether those consequences are more or less predictable? Does it make a difference? I choose "A" conduct which has totally unpredictable evil consequences for others am I responsible or not? Careful of the answer that's your choice isn't it?
I’m working on knowing Time a bit better. He is weird, sometimes so unpredictable, sometimes knowing him by the minute. Then I’ve got your post. Thanks. And thanks for the link. So happy to see your fiction book “growing” 💕
Hi Inma! I read Tom Foster’s blog and he has been talking about time recently. Isn’t it wonderful when we fall into places where others are thinking about the same things we are?
It is indeed!!!