Love and Courage
To [many] work is not a gratifying opportunity to do good, but a necessary evil they would gladly forgo if they won or inherited a fortune. It is just a livelihood, a vital drudgery. Its meaning is the paycheck and the value it has in terms of service to their community is indifferent or very subordinate.
Their calculating and uncaring attitude is recognizable. Whereas people who heartily act in the interest of others are gracious, they are perfunctory. At best, in establishments that demand courtesy from employees, their behavior is irreproachable, albeit artificial. "Can I be of assistance? Here you are. Will there be anything else? You're welcome" ? no genuine attempt at pleasing, just a vapid exercise in politeness and efficiency that follows a procedure and arouses a feeling of satisfied indifference as would a serving of plain noodles. They do the minimum that is required of them, to maintain their employment, and gladly do nothing provided they get paid all the same. They never miss a break. Come the end of their working day, they rush out before the first second of the next hour has passed. They live for their time off and dream of a permanent vacation, as though leisure were the essence of happiness.
What about the dignity of making oneself useful, which is the antipode of this levity? What about love ? I mean the desire to live usefully in the service of others? This desire builds on gratefulness, with a view to worthiness. I start from the assumption that love is a characteristic of people who appreciate living in society, thanks to a combination of positive attitude and relatively favorable social environment. To sum up, the more they love life, in company with others who take part in their life, the more they love others.
Now, feeling this love is one thing, acting upon it is quite another, which needs courage. Actually, a lack of courage would not only render this love inactive but also tend to destroy it in order to avoid shame. The mind is a double-edged thinking tool that can cut its way in and out of truth by means of veracious statements or specious arguments. Love may be denied despite every reason for loving. Therefore, courage is a rich trait of character without which love is unable to flourish, neither as an emotion nor as an action. Of course, where laziness and cowardliness have rotted or stunted love, dignity ? which stems from the act of loving ? is but a potential bloom. May courage be cultivated! I hate to think that the soul has such a capacity for beauty and yet can remain undeveloped, morally retarded, as ugly as a shriveled growth that an earnest gardener could have transformed into a heavenly rose.
On reflection, courage should be valued above all other virtues, since it constitutes the necessary condition for developing them. It is not a sufficient condition, however. It is capable of nothing by itself while everything depends on it. Courage is the force that can raise life to joy and joy to love and love to dignity, insofar as the human nature aspires to these difficult heights, though it is always tempted to go for the easy and low option. This nature is indeed dual. People are forever torn between their lofty aspirations and their base temptations. Their choice to honor these aspirations or surrender to these temptations determines their moral status, admirable or pitiable.
Admittedly, the more you are afflicted with misery, the harder it is for you to lead a courageous and honorable existence. It is not surprising that children who grow up in miserable circumstances sometimes display miserable attitudes and behaviors once they are adults: low self-esteem and under-achievement, resentment and aggressiveness, alcoholism and drug addiction, vagrancy and crime, among others. These attitudes and behaviors deplorably impact the other members of society who are worried, troubled, harmed, or perverted by them. The problem is clearly cancerous. I hope that the future will bring effective social measures to better assist these children in their pursuit of happiness and worthiness. Benefactions, family allowances, subsidized housing, free health care and school education, together with scholarships, are present solutions that rely on private charities or government policies and call for improvements through greater creativity and generosity.
Bearing in mind the deplorable impact that the children of misery can have on society, as they sometimes grow into failures, misfits, or outlaws, I feel compelled to underscore the utilitarianism behind this generosity. Just as these children arouse compassion, they are a cause for anxiety in everyone who is aware of this possible impact. Their welfare is actively sought, both for their sake and that of society at large whose interests are at stake. Likewise, employers who care about their employees, while caring about their business, always offer them the best possible working conditions. These employees are joyful and grateful as a rule, which ensures a superior efficiency and loyalty on their part. Good spirit is good profit.
Some dream of equal opportunities for everyone. Will this dream someday become a reality? Everywhere in the world, it meets with inequality ? between those who are born lucky and those who are not, relatively speaking. Is it a lost cause? I believe so, though I am a firm believer in progress. Even a welfare state with the most extensive social assistance could only reduce this inequality, not eliminate it.
What if it resorted to communism to reduce this inequality further? History suggests that a communist regime would prove ruinous, economically and psychologically, in the long run. The equal sharing of resources between people, imposed on them by a centralized government regardless of their respective contributions to the common good, is an untenable and unviable totalitarian approach. In a word, it is an absurdity.
Democratic societies, on the other hand, leave much to be desired, but are certainly the most satisfactory to date. They are based on freedom, talent, chance, and merit, while including a safety net for those who have fallen off the high wire of health and success. Things merely have to improve. The status quo is a steppingstone to brighter days.
Forget perfection, which is deadly and imperfect after all: an illusion. However bright the future may turn out, it will not be without shadows. Unhealthy, unwise, unsuccessful, unhappy, and unkind adults will keep bringing children into the world. Assuming these children will benefit from improved relief measures, they will nevertheless suffer from a difficult youth, lacking in the material and spiritual advantages luckier children enjoy. Like their previous counterparts, they will be confronted by the challenge of growing into the opposite of their parents ? that is, into healthy, wise, successful, happy, and kind adults. None but the strong will overcome. Only they will appreciate the divine justice that counterbalances the problem of inequality: The less luck people have at the start, the more merit they have in the end if they make a success of their life. This principle is universal and timeless; it is applicable here and now. May the objects of our compassion fill us with admiration as they rise from their woes to become our heroes!
This victory against the odds is an extreme. I can think of a second extreme, as pathetic as the first is heroic. Contrary to expectations, some people born of goodhearted and well-to-do parents are miserable individuals. They are insatiably selfish and shockingly ungrateful, so infantile and spineless that play and rest are their sole ambitions. Did they have a weak character to start with? Did their parents kill them with kindness and spoil them rotten? Is that why they have no soul?
Laurent Grenier's writing career spans over twenty years. During this time he has broadened and deepened his worldview, by dint of much reflection and study, and in the end has crafted "A Reason for Living," his best work to date.
Official web site: http://laurentgrenier.com/ARFL.html
 Google News Updated : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:25:52 GMT Hurricane Gustav Strengthens, Accelerates, Heads for Cuba, Gulf - Bloomberg
Bloomberg - By Patrick Donahue and Robin Stringer Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Hurricane Gustav strengthened and picked up speed as it headed toward western Cuba and the US Gulf Coast cities ravaged by Katrina and Rita in 2005, after lashing the Cayman Islands with ... Video: Gustav Follows Katrina's Path Some leave Gulf Coast ahead of likely evacuations Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:40:06 GMT Experts: Silver lining for ‘viable’ Mitt Romney - Boston Herald Boston Herald - By Edward Mason Mitt Romney - once a top contender to be John McCain’s running mate - may have suffered a bruised ego when he was passed over for the little known Gov. It's not Pawlenty, it's Palin Pawlenty, after the pick, another day at fair Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 04:13:29 GMT Comcast to Place a Cap on Internet Downloads - New York Times
New York Times - By BRIAN STELTER Comcast, one of the country’s largest Internet providers, said this week that it would place limits on customers’ broadband usage. Comcast's Answer to ... Critics Question Comcast Broadband Caps Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:08:14 GMT US Oil, Gas Producers, Pipelines Brace for Gustav (Update1) - Bloomberg
Bloomberg - By Margot Habiby Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc plan to finish shutting oil and gas production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and Enbridge Energy Partners LP will close pipelines as Hurricane Gustav gains strength and moves ... More volatility seen with hurricane, payrolls Airlines bounce as oil gives up early gains Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:21:02 GMT Obama campaign buoyed by convention - Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times - He sees an unusually strong jump in support after the carefully choreographed event in Denver. By Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer DENVER -- Amy Pearl is the sort of Democrat who made the Barack Obama campaign nervous. Look out, Palin The Hillary factor . . . Hillary supporters aren't bitter; they're concerned Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 07:00:48 GMT Sign of the times - BBC News
BBC News - As Russia and the West warn of a new Cold War after the Georgian conflict, the BBC's Humphrey Hawksley in Moscow tries to imagine what it would look like. European Union to Hold Urgent Meeting on Russia last straw" for Russia Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:10:28 GMT S. Ossetia to be absorbed into Russia - United Press International
United Press International - TSKHINVALI, Georgia, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- South Ossetia says it will become part of Russia and host Russian military bases under a new agreement. Video: UN does have double standards Kremlin announces that South Ossetia will Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:01:52 GMT Make Money From Home |
PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts,
Websites, and more... At SPIRIT Connections, we believe that the most powerful tool... Read More "How are you doing?" you ask. There's a pause before... Read More What is essential in your life? This question contains one... Read More Mark Twain (1835-1910) believed that having fun is important if... Read More Last week we started a five part series on The... Read More Judge not, lest ye be judged. ?Matthew 7:1The call was... Read More When my older son was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity... Read More Direct Answers - Column for the week of April 26,... Read More Wreaths are like rings. They represent the Universal Circle ("Let... Read More Direct Answers - Column for the week of January 27,... Read More Direct Answers - Column for the week of April 7,... Read More *In the last couple of months, I have been fortunate... Read More What is social acceptance? Why is it so important? What... Read More Learning to distinguish between two powerful emotions - superficially very... Read More "I attend courses, read books, listen to CD's, yet I... Read More I bought this computer just over two years ago with... Read More This is a true story. A woman had Snow White... Read More The quest for the ultimate victory.In part one I shared... Read More Each night, when I put my head on the pillow... Read More Yes you got it. You read it correctly. We're not... Read More (excerpted from the New Jim Rohn Weekend Event DVD/CD series)Is... Read More Direct Answers - Column for the week of February 17,... Read More I've spoken with many people who, over time, have felt... Read More I find of particular interest in the Eastern Religions many... Read More Not long after the beginning a being fell from the... Read More
Adsense
websites
Energy Work Basics Part 3: The Power of High Intention
Sixty-Second Caring
Anamchara - Living An Essential Life
Succeed by Whistling While You Work
The Seasons of Life, Part 2 of 5
Just a Typical Teenage Boy
The Power of Gratitude
Heavy Weather Guide
Magical Wreaths
On Track
A Bad Move
How I Get Joy as a Value
One Woman, One Leg, No Job
Shame and Guilt: A World of Difference
Ever Wondered Why Everyone Else is Moving On, Except You?
A Cat In The Hand Is Worth Two Birds In The Bush!
Transform Old Grumpy
No More Frustration: The Thorns of Opportunity - Part II
Looking for a Better World - What Every Person Can Do!
Anything That?s Worth Doing, Is Worth Doing Poorly
One of Life´s Great Lessons ? Learn to be Thankful for What You Already Have
A Life Touched
Need for a Belief System: A System of Organization for Your Experiences!
Basic Buddhism - Doing What is Right
The Serpents Genesis 1 and 2
Affordable and Reliable Web Hosting Starting at $4.49/Month
Brilliance in Balance
"For everything you have missed, you have gained something else;... Read More
7 Strategies to Overcoming Anxiety and Panic Attacks
You Can Overcome panic attacks and anxiety! That is great... Read More
Why Self Esteem Matters
A number of years ago I worked for one of... Read More
Financial Freedom Blues
Steps to Financial Freedom, roadmap to financial freedom, achieve financial... Read More
The Eyes of the Clown
There are few enough miracles in life, God knows. I... Read More
Romance - Can It Last?
I'm a sucker for romance. I love movies where boy... Read More
Rightful Owner
Direct Answers - Column for the week of January 20,... Read More
It Only Takes a Spark - Pass It On
Great inspiring people have influenced people in every area of... Read More
Favorite Quotations... What Do They Say About Us?
Have you stopped to think what your favorite quotes are... Read More
Opening the Heart and Exploring Beneath the Surface
Exploring beneath the surface of a reoccurring relationship issue can... Read More
Follow Your Dreams: Believe In You
What you believe in the inside, to a large extent... Read More
Lessons Learned Hard
Many of us seek consolation in the words of Frank... Read More
Heavy Weather Guide
Direct Answers - Column for the week of April 26,... Read More
Discernment and Judgement
Discernment is an inner guide or compass. It is loving... Read More
Just a Typical Teenage Boy
Judge not, lest ye be judged. ?Matthew 7:1The call was... Read More
Need A Boost? Take a Look at How Far Youve Come
Too many of us are too hard on ourselves, always... Read More
Create 10 Delightful Daily Habits
Practising extreme self-care in our life involves practising good "daily"... Read More
Control Your Own Destiny
"You cannot control what happens to you, but you can... Read More
For Inspiration Watch a Kite Fly Against the Wind
Given a steady wind and a properly balanced kite, the... Read More
Hitler and the Tsunami
In Catholic school the nuns used to tell us that... Read More
Good-Bye Yesterday, Hello Today
Many of us are unable to move forward with our... Read More
On Track
Direct Answers - Column for the week of January 27,... Read More
Improvisational
Why are we trying so hard? It is like we... Read More
Energy Work Basics Part 3: The Power of High Intention
At SPIRIT Connections, we believe that the most powerful tool... Read More
Your Support Network
Quick. Who's in your support network? Huh? What's a support... Read More
Inspirational |