Ever since I read it about 13 years ago, this anonymous, ancient Buddhist quote has meant a great deal to me:
"Live as though the entire world depends on what you do, and realize that what you do will probably make no difference at all." But it is in error. More correctly:
""Live as though the entire world depends on what you do, and realize that what you do will HARDLY make any difference at all."
Maybe I can't communicate the difference in any way that has meaning for another, but here's my attempt. Not that the first iteration gave me the idea that I one might massively change the world - almost everything in our culture gave me that, early in my years. But this quote pretty uniquely captured that notion. ALL EVIDENCE suggests that this is false. All evidence suggests that, as no one ever has, NO ONE EVER HAS MASSIVELY IMPACTED HUMANITY, no one ever has. Start, what about Jesus - he has billions of followers? No, he doesn't. Billions have him on their lips, but not one in a million of those have him on their Heart, poor things. Jesus tried to give us back God (Good), and were he standing among us today he would say that he totally and entirely, and completely failed in doing so. Gandhi, King, Camara, Romero....
Slightly aside the point, but only slightly - I've long revered Teresa of Calcutta, but with a significant reservation - I recall her saying to the effect that - 'Everybody knows that no one should spend time on politics.' Huh, I thought? But this morning I'm thinking she said, what I'm maybe figuring out now. What cell in the body, which yeast, which levin devotes it's moments of life to exhorting, leading, attempting to influence all the others? None. EXCEPT THROUGH ITS OWN, HUMBLE, PLODDING EXAMPLE. This may be true of how Teresa lived, and Romero, and Camara, and Bonhoeffer, and, well, Jesus. Has it been true of SL? I'm not sure, but I'm more than ever suspecting, 'no;' that I've lacked that level of Humility, Reality.
"Live as though the entire world depends on what you do, and realize that what you do will probably make no difference at all." But it is in error. More correctly:
""Live as though the entire world depends on what you do, and realize that what you do will HARDLY make any difference at all."
Maybe I can't communicate the difference in any way that has meaning for another, but here's my attempt. Not that the first iteration gave me the idea that I one might massively change the world - almost everything in our culture gave me that, early in my years. But this quote pretty uniquely captured that notion. ALL EVIDENCE suggests that this is false. All evidence suggests that, as no one ever has, NO ONE EVER HAS MASSIVELY IMPACTED HUMANITY, no one ever has. Start, what about Jesus - he has billions of followers? No, he doesn't. Billions have him on their lips, but not one in a million of those have him on their Heart, poor things. Jesus tried to give us back God (Good), and were he standing among us today he would say that he totally and entirely, and completely failed in doing so. Gandhi, King, Camara, Romero....
Slightly aside the point, but only slightly - I've long revered Teresa of Calcutta, but with a significant reservation - I recall her saying to the effect that - 'Everybody knows that no one should spend time on politics.' Huh, I thought? But this morning I'm thinking she said, what I'm maybe figuring out now. What cell in the body, which yeast, which levin devotes it's moments of life to exhorting, leading, attempting to influence all the others? None. EXCEPT THROUGH ITS OWN, HUMBLE, PLODDING EXAMPLE. This may be true of how Teresa lived, and Romero, and Camara, and Bonhoeffer, and, well, Jesus. Has it been true of SL? I'm not sure, but I'm more than ever suspecting, 'no;' that I've lacked that level of Humility, Reality.
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