Aristotle once said: “Misfortune shows those who are not really friends”.
We all encounter tribulations and everyone deals differently but how should one respond when a good friend turns up absent? Is this a sign of the quality of the friendship or a single independent (and forgiveable) moment of selfishness? No man, woman or friend is truly perfect and one can never like everything about a person. So should one simply forgive and forget mistakes made by friends?
“The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget” - said by Dr. Thomas Szasz, a professor of Psychiatry at the University of NY.
Forgiving is easy but forgetting is challenging. Do past behaviors dictate future behaviors? Will I be left standing alone again in a time of need?
What good is it having lots of time to do whatever you want? Time spent lounging around is much more enjoyed when it should be spent doing something else. When I have lots to do, I’d rather just relax. Yet when I have nothing to do but relax, I want something to do. Ironic? Why is it that we enjoy down time more when we should be doing something else? Relaxing is relaxing, is it not? The rebellious thought that “I should be reading Evidence right now” or whatever seems to make that hour of nothing that much better. Maybe since we have other things to do, time becomes coveted, making wasted time seem special.
“There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is in having lots to do and not doing it” - said by Mary Wilson, one of the original Supremes.
“My favorite thing about the Internet is that you get to go into the private world of real creeps without having to smell them” - said by Penn Jillette, famous American comedian and illusionist (Penn & Teller)
The truth of this statement can be frightening but it can also be a solid source of entertainment. A good friend of mine introduced me to the Tucker Max website (see blogroll for link), where a young lawyer named Tucker Max recounts the numerous adventures of his indulgent and, at times, indecent life. Check out the website for a few great laughs, but caution yourself that his stories are not for the faint, some reaching the shocking standard of grossly inappropriate. Happy reading!
“Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace” - said by the Irish playwright and poet Oscar Wilde
So where to draw this line? That is a decision that everyone must make for themselves; a decision they must also live with. What one considers immoral may simply be what had to be done in the eyes of another. Benjamin Franklin, the most well-known Founding Father of the United States, once said:
“He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money”
Where does morality come into play when it comes to making money? In our capitalist society, the world seems to revolve around money and morality is suffering. Should morals be set aside in order to obtain a higher standard of living? Where should the line be drawn? Are manipulations and deceits just part of the wage earning game? I’m on the fence. Voltaire, the French writer and philosophist, said:
“All sects are different, because they come from men; morality is everywhere the same, because it come from God”
All we know about our representatives is what they hold out to us as themselves. But what is there that we do not know? Are these folks who so zealously fought to obtain these positions pulling a guise down over voters’ eyes? Are there liars, thieves, burglars and pirates among them? The latter two probably not; but the former are not so far-fetched. The best indicator of future behavior is past behavior and sticky fingers do not unstick so easily.
“Those who cast the votes decide nothing; those who count the votes decide everything” - Joseph Stalin
I’m not suggesting that the elections this year (or any other year for that matter) were fixed but take what you will from Stalin’s words. Student body elections have the semblance of democracy and justice but in reality they are a popularity contest based upon lies and misrepresentations. It’s about who you know and not who knows you. Are we too easily buying into false personas that are full of empty promises? I just hope that the newly elected reps do not lead the USSU down the same troublesome road that other smaller unions have travelled by the same hands.
“The most important work you and I will ever do will be within the walls of our own homes”
- the late Harold B Lee, the 11th President of the Church of Latter-day Saints
Very true. I’m sure he meant it more with respect to spending time with family, etc but don’t the walls themselves need a little care too? Checkout the Rollout website (see blogroll for link) for the coolest wallpaper that’ll make any bare wall happy! The best part is they create custom wallpapers from your digital pics. As soon as I get a house, every room will be fibrantly decorated with the help of these unique prints. Until then I’ll have to live ficariously through others by spreading the wallpaper love!
”Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves”
Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist who founded analytical psychology and emphasized spirituality as well as balance in the understanding of the human psyche, has said many things that make me wonder about my personality and that of others. Have you ever had one of those moments where you realize something about yourself (perhaps a downfall or weakness) through your exasperation with another? Passivity can be lazyness but perhaps it can also be cautiousness. Not all things need to move at the speed of light. Some like to take it slow; and maybe there’s nothing wrong with slow?
Carl Jung also once said: “The shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases”.