2: One of my favorite lines: “To accept without arrogance, to let it go with indifference.” Another translation of the same: “Receive without pride, let go without attachment.” Meaning: You are who you are, success or failure, admired or ignored.
I think of this in the following manner. Suppose someone tells you that they like the way your feet angle when you walk. And you think: Okay, that is odd. How do I respond? Should I respond. Then you say "Thanks".
Now suppose you've been working out and exercising. And someone compliments you. And you say, Thanks!".
The idea here is that you are the same either way. You have been working out for some reason, and you're pleased that someone notices. But your travel towards your goal is what counts.
So weather someone compliments you, or complains about you, or questions you commitment. - the result is the same. You judge yourself by your own standards. And we should set our standards are what is really important.You know, like looking good in the summer at the beach.
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| A French man, comfortable in his skin |
Hmmmm. So what about judging ourselves? Say we do a random act of kindness. Can we be happy with ourselves for helping someone or should we be indifferent about it? Indifference is a hard thing to harness.
ReplyDeleteFor most of us, and particularly you, making other people's lives better IS a ruling characteristic of you. That is one of your life goals, whether you recognize it or not. So random acts of kindness are not indifferent to you, they are a daily reminder to prioritize your beliefs - and you do.
ReplyDeleteAs opposed to someone who might leave a coffee shop, decide they hated having change and drop it in a panhandlers cup. If the man wasn't there he might just as easily just dropped it. Their motivation is different than yours.
You want to help, and he just wants to get rid of stuff he doesn't need.