because it’s just true
Posted by: admin in: ● June 24, 2010
i only picked up this book from the library yesterday (getting books you’ve put on hold and forgotten about is like christmas!), so i’m not too deep into yet.. still, i can’t get this sentiment out of my head. so simple, honest, revealing and true.
“If you can think of times in your life that you’ve treated people with extraordinary decency and love, and pure uninterested concern, just because they were valuable as human beings. The ability to do that with ourselves. To treat ourselves the way we would treat a really good, precious friend. Or a tiny child of ours that we absolutely loved more than life itself. And I think it’s probably possible to achieve that. I think part of the job we’re here for is to learn how to do it. I know that sounds a little pious.”
– David Foster Wallace
4 Comments to "because it’s just true"
1 | Jon
24 de June de 2010 to ● 1:07 am
That’s definitely a hard concept to wrap your head around. Some people act selfishly, and some selflessly, and most a combination both; yet the two are not as diametrically opposed as a dictionary might allege. Reckoning the concept of an innate, unconditional care and generosity with even an enlightened self-interest almost defies explanation. I mean, is it really a sacrifice if you are both the donor and the beneficiary? I suppose figuring out how to do that is one of life’s mysteries.
2 | Nat (halfbloodme)
24 de June de 2010 to ● 12:32 pm
The quote you’ve shown has tempted me to get the book. The impetus behind the quote gives a deeper perspective on who we are and why we are here. The often difficult thing in life is to avoid the question, if I do this for someone, what will I get in return? And that becomes harder when the person in question is a stranger.
Talking to my elderly next door neighbour for an hour a day makes her happy, but it also gives me the peace of mind that she is still very much alive and very much herself. Walking two of my kids (I work as a TA) across the road at the end of the day to their mother’s car makes them and her happy, but it also stops the nagging in my mind that one of these days they are going to run out in front of a car and end up hurt when I could have done something about it.
But stopping today and talking to the little old woman who was out walking her dog brought a smile to her face and helped her see that not everyone will ignore her. I extended a hand of friendship, looking for nothing in return and made her day a little brighter.
3 | Joe
1 de July de 2010 to ● 1:22 pm
People ask me at work how my day is going, and I usually respond, “It’s about a 5-out-of-10 day”. They usually laugh and ask why only a “5″. I say 5 is average. Right in the middle. A “7″ is like getting a promotion or a first date. A “10″ would be all people actually believing and living that quote. That’s what so maddening about the world. No one seems to want be happy or respectful to anyone. It’s seems to take too much effort to think for a moment about the cause and effect of any action you take and how it will affect others. It’s the ol’ “why-should-I-care?” mentality. Sorry for all the quotations. Don’t even know if I used them right.
4 | Scott Beatob
2 de July de 2010 to ● 8:58 am
I hate to say it but most people I deal with every day are only think about them self’s of the time and treat everyone around them like crap.