/ responsibility.txt
responsibility.txt
1 One might suffer from the feeling of being "lost" as in: 2 "I am free and that is why I am lost." 3 Those who are lost might appreciate these words: 4 "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." 5 One might appreciate the following words to understand why that might be: 6 "The root of happiness is altruism – the wish to be of service to others." 7 Those who wonder why one might wish to be in service might appreciate these words: 8 "Love is the wish to give, not to receive." 9 Those who seek to understand love might appreciate the chapter on "transcendene". 10 Those who were not fortunate to experience such love might raise such question as: 11 "Altruism has always been one of biology's deep mysteries. Why should any animal, off on its own, specified and labeled by all sorts of signals as its individual self, choose to give up its life in aid of someone else?" 12 Those who are still wondering might appreciate the following realization: 13 "Animals have genes for altruism, and those genes have been selected in the evolution of many creatures because of the advantage they confer for the continuing survival of the species." 14 Those who do not understand the advantage yet might appreciate these words: 15 "When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die." 16 Those who seek to contribute might appreciate these words: 17 "The best contribution one can make to humanity is to improve oneself." 18 Those who improve themselves might appreciate these words: 19 "The essence of independence is to be able to do something for one's self." 20 Those who seek independence might appreciate these words: 21 "True independence and freedom can only exist in doing what's right." 22 Those who seek to do what is right might appreciate the following advice: 23 "Doing the right thing is not the problem. Knowing what the right thing is, that's the challenge." 24 Those who seek such knowledge might appreciate these words: 25 "Wisdom is not gained by knowing what is right. Wisdom is gained by practicing what is right, and noticing what happens when that practice succeeds and when it fails." 26 Those who seek to practice what might be right might appreciate the following warning: 27 "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail." 28 Those who seek to prepare might appreciate these words: 29 "Whatever your weakness, there's a hellion to exploit it." 30 Those who seek to know such weakness might appreciate these words: 31 "Sacrifice is the ecstasy of giving the best we have to the One we love most." 32 The reason why such ecstasy might be a weakness might be able to be understood in the following warning: 33 "Ecstasy cannot be constant, or it would kill." 34 Those who cannot decide who one loves most might appreciate these words: 35 "If you have the ability to love, love yourself first." 36 Those who seek to love oneself might appreciate these words: 37 "Abundance is knowing that everything you need has already been supplied." 38 Those who seek to understand what one needs, might appreciate the chapter on "needs". 39 Those who seek to understand abundance might appreciate these words: 40 "Abundance doesn't follow giving until giving becomes its own reward." 41 Those who seek to understand why other motivation to give might be detrimental might appreciate these words: 42 "Benevolence does not consist in those who are prosperous pitying and helping those who are not. It consists in fellow feeling that puts you upon actually the same level with the fellow who suffers." 43 One might understand one reason why that is through these words: 44 "The best help that benevolence and philanthropy can give is that which induces everybody to help himself." 45 Those who seek to induce others so help themselves might appreciate these words: 46 "Ask for help. Not because you are weak. But because you want to remain strong." 47 Those who have been asked for help might appreciate these words: 48 "We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone." 49 Those who seek to find someone one might be able to help, might appreciate the advice to seek professionals who are qualified to help. Some might become resentful, because they were not fortunate to find such help for any given reason. Those might appreciate these words: 50 "Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." 51 Those who seek such groth and freedom might the following statement: 52 "Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better." 53 Those who seek courage to take that chance to be better might appreciate these words: 54 "Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." 55 While searching for one's own way, one might come to the same conclusion as in: 56 "Virture offers the only path in this life that leads to tranquility." 57 Those who seek tranquiality might appreciate the chapters "peace", "good", "friendship", "maturity", "integrity", "harmony", "loyalty", "honor", "benevolence" and "malevolence". 58 Those who have already reached tranquility might appreciate the following warning: 59 "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." 60 One might be inspired to become the solution due to the following quote: 61 "Freedom means that one is responsible for one’s own choices, actions, one’s own life situation." 62 One might appreciate the simplicity of the following understanding of responsiblity: 63 "Responsibility is the ability to respond." 64 One may appreciate the following quote as a basic guideline on how to respond: 65 "Before you speak, ask yourself, 66 is it kind, is it necessary, is it true, 67 does it improve the silence?" 68 One might find inspiration how to actually 69 improve the silence in these words: 70 "We must never allow the voice of humanity within us to be silenced. 71 It is humanity's sympathy with all creatures 72 that first makes us truly human." 73 Regarding this quote, one might appreciate the interpretation 74 of the term "humanity" as a quality of being humane, 75 not as the entirety of the humans species. 76 There might be some who may feel resistance towards the words 77 question the underlying motivation for charity 78 and the following actions in the past and its consequences. 79 One might be able to understand the flaw in that 80 throught through these words: 81 "Empathy fuels connection; Sympathy drives disconnection" 82 One might then appreciate the explaination why empathy might fuel connection: 83 "Empathy works so well because it does not require a solution. 84 It requires only understanding." 85 One might appreciate the following mantra to express empathy: 86 "We are all on the way to Pro." 87