For Stephanie
May you come to the end of yourself before you come to the end of your resources.
May you have enough pride to know when you're right, and enough humility to admit when you're wrong.
May you learn to stand on your own, without forgetting how to hold my hand.
May you gain the wisdom to see the world through my eyes, and be patient as I learn to see it through yours.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Quote of the Day
"Many clever men like you have trusted in civilisation. Many clever Babylonians, many clever Egyptians, many clever men at the end of Rome. Can you tell me, in a world that is flagrant with the failures of civilisation, what there is particularly immortal about yours?"
G.K. Chesterton
G.K. Chesterton
If
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you.
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
And make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream-and not make dreams your master;
If you can think-and not make thoughts you aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat these two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build them up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch and toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings-nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Your is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And-which is more-you'll be a Man, my son!
Rudyard Kipling
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you.
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
And make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream-and not make dreams your master;
If you can think-and not make thoughts you aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat these two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build them up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch and toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings-nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Your is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And-which is more-you'll be a Man, my son!
Rudyard Kipling
When Does A Belief Become A Prejudice?
I am filling out an application for a scholarship that will enable me to attain my bachelor's degree. One of the questions is, When Does A Belief Become A Prejudice? Here is my anwer.
A belief becomes a predudice when you use it to judge the person and not the product; when the first glance becomes the last chance to make an impression.
A belief becomes a prejudice when you hold it up to everyone else except yourself; when you become the exception to the rule.
A belief becomes a prejudice when it closes your mind and prevents you from hearing what the other side has to say; when it becomes your prison and you believe you are free.
A belief becomes a prejudice when you use it to judge, but refuse to let it be judged; when you only know what you believe and not why you believe it.
A belief becomes a prejudice when it becomes your measure in all things; when its logic only works in your hands.
A belief becomes a prejudice when it defines who you are; when the question of its validity becomes a question of your validity as a person.
A belief becomes a predudice when you use it to judge the person and not the product; when the first glance becomes the last chance to make an impression.
A belief becomes a prejudice when you hold it up to everyone else except yourself; when you become the exception to the rule.
A belief becomes a prejudice when it closes your mind and prevents you from hearing what the other side has to say; when it becomes your prison and you believe you are free.
A belief becomes a prejudice when you use it to judge, but refuse to let it be judged; when you only know what you believe and not why you believe it.
A belief becomes a prejudice when it becomes your measure in all things; when its logic only works in your hands.
A belief becomes a prejudice when it defines who you are; when the question of its validity becomes a question of your validity as a person.
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