On Sun, 30 May 1999, eric + michiko wrote:
>
> Jeff, you often seem to be trying hard to avoid "pressuring" others or
> telling them what to do. I'm not quite sure how far you take that idea.
> Do not force others to believe something.
> Do not pressure others to believe something.
> Do not try to influence others to believe something.
> Do not try to engage others in discussions about what they believe.
I take it this far. Hard experience tells me that anything before this
point does not work to effect change.
> Do not concern yourself with what others believe.
> Do not share with others what you believe.
And these last two only work when I am concerning myself with and sharing
beliefs that are directly expressed in my own life.
> amount of trying to help others see a better way is necessary. "Just
> doing" in isolation will not bring about a change in society. It is the
> combined efforts of many who are "just doing" that will start to make a
> change.
I've found that I am never "just doing it" in isolation. A lot of people
are watching me do it. I rarely talk about what I am doing, and never
attempt to proselytize. I do talk about what I am doing and what I believe
when asked to. I know for certain that I have inspired change in quite a
few people's lives by "just doing". It is not the grand scale of change
that will save the world next week, but it is a lot more than when I used
to try to make changes in others.
sph
Sandra P. Hoffman [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.flora.org/sandra/
It's a thankless job, but
I've got a lot of karma to burn off.
