Thought for the day

[drwex]

These things wander across my screen sometimes and sometimes they catch my eye:

Never Give Up, no matter what is going on, never give up. Too much energy is spent developing the mind instead of the heart. Be compassionate — not just to your friends but to everyone — be compassionate. Work for peace, and I say again, never give up, no matter what is happening, no matter what is going on around you, never give up.
-- Dalai Lama

Comments

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

Never Give Up

[raised eyebrow] Because at minimum, in the end, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you didn't give up.

[drwex]

As opposed to the disappointment of knowing things might have gone differently if you'd simply tried? Sure. I'll take that.

Or did you mean something different by that raised eyebrow?

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

-No, I agree with the sentiment. But, like many such guidelines, it's sometimes easier in theory than in practice.

[taura-g.livejournal.com]

it's sometimes easier in theory than in practice

Oh, is that very much the truth.

Which is why this little reminders through friends and family are useful.

[drwex]

Of course. But if it was that easy we wouldn't need such guidelines in the first place. Few people need to be reminded of things that come naturally.

[sandhawke.livejournal.com]

I think this only makes sense in a very restricted sense -- one which was perhaps conveyed by the original context but seems mostly lost here.

I mean, of course you should give up if what you're trying to do is stupid or wrong, right? I guess one has to be careful to sound-bite it down to "never give up when you're trying to be compassionate" or something, but I'm not even totally sure that's right. (Witness the two people yelling at each other as my grandmother died, arguing over the best way to be compassionate toward her! And it would have continued, had one person not given up, right?)

In other words, all absolute statements are false.

[sweetmmeblue.livejournal.com]

> In other words, all absolute statements are false.

Might that make this a case in point?

[drwex]

I think you are confusing "stop" with "give up." One should probably stop doing things that are stupid or wrong but that only usually occurs in the context of a larger project. Having discovered that the present approach is wrong, one ought to try a different approach rather than giving up.

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

(FYI: Have added you to my friends list so I can get to know you before I move up there and get to know you. *nod*)