Bob: I don't feel
confusion. I am asking, why
be concerned with doing the best
Som: Because doing one's best is the only way to do a thing, imo.
Bob: I can play a
little piano. When I do,
there is never the idea of doing or being
the best.
Som: When you hear a discord in what you play, you try to improve it (I
assume).
That improvement is trying to do one's best.
bob: I see it
differently. Why compare with
oneself?
Som: To improve what we are doing. Without comparing a
discordant note with a harmonious one, there is no improvement.
Bob: Who am I
or you to assume the authority
of taking the horse to the water?
Som: That is an expression, which I used to mean that you express your
views;
it is up to the other to accept or not accept them.
Bob: Yes. That is a
world-wide and historical point
of view of many, many people. Look around you at
the world. There are many who have "excelled" in
their chosen fields of endeavor. Are they any more
intelligent in their living than anybody else? Medio-
crity is "being the best within the model of the norm".
It is this norm that is truly mediocre.
Som: [A] A person pushing him/herself to do the best is acting
intelligently.
[B] When the ego takes over ("I am the best") then s/he is not
acting intelligently.
[C] An indolent, complacent person is not acting intelligently to begin
with.
Way of intelligence is to pursue [A] and avoid [B] and [C].
Bob: Of course, that
is your interpretation of
K's words
Som: Agreed. Everything that I write here about K, or anyone else,
is my interpretation of what they said. It can not be any other
way.
I also write a lot of things that are from my own humble understanding
of
what I have learnt through this journey of life.
Bob: Have you a
burning talent? If you have,
you may have noticed that there is no urge
to do your "best". There is no psychological
pressure of that kind.
Som: Doing one's best is no pressure at all, imo.