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This really struck me when I read it.
Jul. 19th, 2012 04:23 pmI'm reading A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver DeMille. This passage, on page 128, attributed to Alexander Tytler, really hit me:
"...the world's greatest civilizations...have progressed through this sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependency; from dependency back again to bondage."
I've been taking a close look at where my values lie over the last several months. I find that I'm further along this continuum than I'd like to be, and I'm working to create changes in my beliefs and actions to reflect that I want to be someone else. One of my favorite songs, by the band Sister Hazel, says "if you want to be somebody else, change your mind." That's what I'm doing.
What about you? Where do you fall? Are you so far gone in apathy that you don't care anymore? Would you like to live in a different reality than the one in which you find yourself? What can you do? I, me, I'm reading new information, such as this above-mentioned book. As a former career educator, it challenges several beliefs that I've held for half my life, and it stings when I recognize truth. You know how we all have a built-in crap detector? It works with truth, as well, and hearing truth is life-changing. When you hear it, you have to either go back to what you were doing and have that truth whispering "you know a better way" in the back of your head all the time, or you have to move into a new phase and act on that truth. It isn't comfortable, at all. It is, however, exhilarating, invigorating, stimulating, and exciting. Not to mention maddening. If you're like me, you want to be the new thing all at once. This simply isn't reality; it takes time for transformation. I'm learning, though, that transformation can be sped up by working toward it rather than waiting for it. I'm moving forward, and I invite you to walk with me.
"...the world's greatest civilizations...have progressed through this sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependency; from dependency back again to bondage."
I've been taking a close look at where my values lie over the last several months. I find that I'm further along this continuum than I'd like to be, and I'm working to create changes in my beliefs and actions to reflect that I want to be someone else. One of my favorite songs, by the band Sister Hazel, says "if you want to be somebody else, change your mind." That's what I'm doing.
What about you? Where do you fall? Are you so far gone in apathy that you don't care anymore? Would you like to live in a different reality than the one in which you find yourself? What can you do? I, me, I'm reading new information, such as this above-mentioned book. As a former career educator, it challenges several beliefs that I've held for half my life, and it stings when I recognize truth. You know how we all have a built-in crap detector? It works with truth, as well, and hearing truth is life-changing. When you hear it, you have to either go back to what you were doing and have that truth whispering "you know a better way" in the back of your head all the time, or you have to move into a new phase and act on that truth. It isn't comfortable, at all. It is, however, exhilarating, invigorating, stimulating, and exciting. Not to mention maddening. If you're like me, you want to be the new thing all at once. This simply isn't reality; it takes time for transformation. I'm learning, though, that transformation can be sped up by working toward it rather than waiting for it. I'm moving forward, and I invite you to walk with me.
