First, an update about the copyright issues. I've heard back from the publishers, and they seem reasonably happy to give me permission to do this, as long as I acknowledge that they've given me permission to use their copyrighted material. We haven't quite sorted out every detail yet, so I can't yet say "reproduced with permission...", since I don't quite have their permission yet. In the mean time, so that the flow of posts isn't interrupted, I'll continue, since this is still fair dealing. Without permission, though, I'll have to stop at some point; perhaps the end of the month.
On with the show:
Give to others from the heart and in turn many things will come to you
I think I agree that this is generally true. However, I don't think it's always absolutely true. That's ok; it's a proverb-like saying; proverbs don't have to be always absolutely true. Consider
Early to bed and early to rise
makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
We shouldn't consider this useless just because we find a healthy weathly wise night-shift worker.
Anyway, I was busy commenting on today's saying. I think it's actually a little dangerous to rely on it, sometimes. What if we assess that the good we expect in return isn't worth it? Will we stop doing good? What if we're disappointed by not getting as much in return as we expected? This will happen sometimes; we don't always get what we think is fair. I suppose what I'm saying here is that it isn't a good basis for doing good things; it's a bit too shaky.
One more comment: if you're only doing good things because you expect good things in return, then are you really doing good? It sounds more like a bargain, to me: a bargain with God, or with karma, or with Adam Smith's invisible hand, or with whatever else you expect to underwrite your investment.
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2 comments:
We shouldn't consider this useless just because we find a healthy weathly wise night-shift worker.
Ahem. A healthy wealthy wise night-shift worker doesn't contradict that statement :-P Perhaps you should note that a starving factory worker might very well go to bed early and rise early, but this does not mean that s/he is healthy or wealthy. Just had to point that out, one math geek to another.
More to the point, I'd like to ask what you think the proverb means by "giving from the heart". It could mean sharing what wealth you have, or giving time to the people you love... but for me the most important way of giving from the heart is in giving an honest part of yourself when you interact with others. That, I think, is a good in itself and is to some extent its own reward since conveying what I honestly feel or believe is central to my sense of self; it also helps with making friends etc. The proverb is especially true if you think it refers to that sort of giving.
Ahem. A healthy wealthy wise night-shift worker doesn't contradict that statement :-P
Believe it or not, that thought did occur to me, but I decided to restrain my inclination to interpret the proverb literally, in favour of interpreting it in the way I thought it was probably intended. My example was trying to throw doubt on the universal application of the proverb, rather than on the literal interpretation of it.
Besides, the way in which I first wanted to interpret it "literally" was probably confusing logical necessity with cause & effect in the physical world. Even if everyone who goes to bed and gets up early also happens to be healthy, wealthy, and wise, that doesn't mean that their sleeping habits are what "makes" them healthy, wealthy, or wise, as the proverb says.
If you still want to interpret it literally, and still think my example isn't good enough, I'd like to know what you think does make the night-shift worker healthy, wealthy, and wise, and why this is different from what actually makes the early sleeper–early riser healthy, wealthy, and wise. :-P
Sorry, I couldn't resist.
As for "giving from the heart": I have to admit I didn't think too deeply about the meaning of that part of the saying. Thanks for pointing that out.
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