thanks dan what's right vs what's good simple and clear people can tell you what's right, but only you can know what's good.
--- On Thu, 28/5/09, Dan Glover <[email protected]> wrote: > From: Dan Glover <[email protected]> > Subject: [MD] Doing Some Good > To: [email protected] > Received: Thursday, 28 May, 2009, 10:55 AM > > > > > Hello everyone > > Here, it's a rainy day. The irises are in bloom and birds > are singing in treetops like troops of banana-besotted > baboons. I got up late this morning, sensed the gloom of the > day, and decided to stay home and drink coffee rather than > go to the office. When a person is self-employed you find > you can do things like that and there is no one to bitch at > you for it but yourself. > > I've been reading through the moq.discuss posts. I find > there is value here, even if it is hard to see, sometimes, > although I have to say, I do enjoy pie. Sometimes, it seems > as if everyone is talking at once and no one is saying > anything. It is one of those days when I begin to wonder why > I bother at all. As my mind gradually awakens and begins its > own chatter, I put my gloomy thoughts off to the weather and > let my fingers tinkle the keyboard unbidden. > > I'd like to spend a few of our precious moments together > exploring the relationship between doing what is right in > contradistinction to doing what is Good. I think this might > pertain to gav's plea for less acrimony and more > enlightenment. But I will leave that for you all to decide > for yourself. > > Andre reminds us of what Robert Pirsig says in the On The > Road dvd (and I paraphrase): Doing what's right is static > quality. Doing what's Good is Dynamic Quality. Static > quality is continually evolving towards the freedom of > Dynamic Quality, or in other words, towards extinction. I > think that answers Platt's question quite well... why > survive? Nothing survives. It is a short-sighted viewpoint > of reality to believe otherwise. The old survives just long > enough to give rise to the new and then fades away. > > I think when we post here, we post with the conviction that > we're right. When two opposing views intersect, arguments > invariably result: Chattering monkeys each intent on > dominating and informing other monkeys of that domination. > We are right, by gum, and we're going to make sure all the > world knows we're right. We tend to forget there's no right > and no wrong when it comes to static quality patterns of > value. There is only value. > > Doing what's Good entails stepping back from the tumult of > being right. It begins by acknowledging that we could be > wrong. It progresses into seeing that there are many > different viewpoints to seeing the world as it really is... > as many different viewpoints as there are those doing the > viewing. When we begin to see how much alike we all are we > begin to develop a sense of empathy for others. > > We're trapped between eternities. We are born from a > darkness most profound, kicking and screaming into a world > we'll never understand, and we pass away back into that > darkness most profound. Along the way we make up stories to > pacify ourselves... stories of heaven and hell and > redemption and reincarnation. Allah loves us yet He won't > take the time to save us, the Bastard. The wheel of life > goes round and round as some of us jump on and some fall > off. > > The Buddha said (and again, I paraphrase): It's Good to > open our eyes and see the world for it is: a pathway of > suffering leading through a hell dotted with the rotting > carcasses of our dreams. The world is built on foundations > of sorrow stronger than concrete. > > We are all here sowing confusion in the midst of our futile > pursuit for truth. We're taught to respect authority even > though there's no one who really knows. Others reject > authority and in their righteousness call others derogatory > names as if they just don't know any better. But no one need > tell us what's Good and what's not... > > As I said, it's a gloomy day. I ask myself: In a world > destined to collapse by the weight of its very existence, > how does a single solitary person do some Good? It seems a > fair question to ask. Robert Pirsig says we can do some Good > by striving to become better people. But what does that > mean? Better than what? > > I've noticed that some people are what might be called > "toxic". It's hard to be around people like that. They tend > to bring others down. They cling to their own sense of right > and wrong like they're clinging to life itself. We all know > people like this. I've learned over the years that it's best > to avoid them when possible. > > A few people though are always attempting to bring the best > out in others. They're not necessarily trying to help > others, but rather they attempt to help others help > themselves. I remember when I was working on LILA'S CHILD... > I told a family member what I was up to and how Robert > Pirsig was adding his annotations to the book. The family > member asked me: how much money does he want for that? > > The question stopped me in my tracks. It'd never occurred > to me that he would want any money. But the question nagged > at me. Finally, I thought it best to write Mr. Pirsig a > letter and ask him if he indeed wanted any payment. He was > so gracious... of course he didn't want any money. He was > doing it for the same reason I was: for the Goodness of it. > > I thought about this a lot. Most people I know do not do > things just for the Good of it. They go to work every day in > order to earn a living. They make money. They pay their > bills. They believe in doing what's right. Civilization > depends on people doing what's right. There's nothing wrong > with that. > > A few people feel compelled to go beyond the every day > righteousness, however. The artist cannot help but paint, or > sculpt, or write, just like the drunkard cannot help but > drink. The money doesn't matter. Being right doesn't matter. > All paths though they may diverge in the forest come back to > intersect at the end of the journey. It seems Good though to > recognize some compulsions are better than others. > > Here's where we may be able to do some Good: The MOQ gives > us a moral tool for analyzing our compulsions. Viewing > reality as an evolutionary heirarchy allows us to > intellectually see how biological and social forces by and > large determine our lives. > > Well, you know I sure like drinking Coke (after being sold > socially my whole life on how much I'm sure I like drinking > Coke and it bites just right at the back of my throat, too) > but biologically, it's undermining my health. Maybe I'll > drink tea instead. And I've been sitting here in this chair > for way too long... maybe I'll get off my lazy ass and take > a long walk. That's Quality for sure. > > Let's explore some weightier issues: Well, you know Mom > would rather stay with us than go into the nursing home, but > no one is going to blame us for doing what's right and > making sure she gets the best biological care possible. It > is a great nursing home. And besides, if she moved in with > us it would only socially disrupt the household and make > everybody miserable. > > On the other hand, Mom has been Good to us her whole life > and now she needs us. We don't care if it does disrupt the > household. We're a family. We do Good by each other. We step > up. Both choices are right but only one is Good. We all know > that, right? > > Well, here it is nearly evening and still gloomy and > overcast. Enough musing for the day. Thanks for reading. > > Dan > _________________________________________________________________ > Hotmail® has ever-growing storage! Don’t worry about > storage limits. > http://windowslive.com/Tutorial/Hotmail/Storage?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Tutorial_Storage1_052009 > Moq_Discuss mailing list > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org > Archives: > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ > http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/ > Need a Holiday? Win a $10,000 Holiday of your choice. 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