A true conscience begins when one's fear,
Or one's hope, does not selfishly steer
Your decisions and acts:
When behavior's drive lacks
Such brute guides, then your spirit's sincere.
"True conscience only begins where the fear of punishment, or the hoping and longing for reward, is no longer a determinant or the reason on which you built your decision to behave morally." Viktor Frankl, -- On Reductionism (interview, San Francisco, 1984)
Showing posts with label Behavior. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Behavior. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Constancy
I appreciate constancy's hold,
It is steadfast, it keeps your heart bold.
When the critics assail
Some friends flap and some flail.
Less fainthearted won't fail, they're like gold!
Inspired by the poem New Friends and Old Friends, by the Welsh poet and composer Joseph Parry (1841–1903): "Make new friends, but keep the old; Those are silver, these are gold. New-made friendships, like new wine, Age will mellow and refine...."
It is steadfast, it keeps your heart bold.
When the critics assail
Some friends flap and some flail.
Less fainthearted won't fail, they're like gold!
Inspired by the poem New Friends and Old Friends, by the Welsh poet and composer Joseph Parry (1841–1903): "Make new friends, but keep the old; Those are silver, these are gold. New-made friendships, like new wine, Age will mellow and refine...."
A New Beginning
A catastrophe's when our hearts shake;
Our fond dreams now have gone. We forsake
These, but hope that the dark
Silver-lined clouds will spark
Eucatastrophic joy to awake.
Sentiments such as "When one door closes another opens," "Every dark cloud has a silver lining," and Kipling's poem "If" underpin something significant in man's spirit. Or so thought J.R.R. Tolkien; he termed this eucatastrophe, meaning the sudden turn of events at the end of a mythic story which results in the protagonist's ultimate well-being. He developed just such an ending for his epic book The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien recognized this recurrent, fractal-like theme throughout mythic tales of many civilizations, and believed they prefigured the actual incarnation of Jesus Christ as the eucatastrophe of human history, and in turn Christ's resurrection as the eucatastrophe of the incarnation.
Our fond dreams now have gone. We forsake
These, but hope that the dark
Silver-lined clouds will spark
Eucatastrophic joy to awake.
Sentiments such as "When one door closes another opens," "Every dark cloud has a silver lining," and Kipling's poem "If" underpin something significant in man's spirit. Or so thought J.R.R. Tolkien; he termed this eucatastrophe, meaning the sudden turn of events at the end of a mythic story which results in the protagonist's ultimate well-being. He developed just such an ending for his epic book The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien recognized this recurrent, fractal-like theme throughout mythic tales of many civilizations, and believed they prefigured the actual incarnation of Jesus Christ as the eucatastrophe of human history, and in turn Christ's resurrection as the eucatastrophe of the incarnation.
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