Two masters pt2

A person can do what they believe is best for themselves or they can do what is best for the community. Very often though a person can not do both. Within our home we have three different small groups of people. Two by design and one that is just sort of happening.

The first is renters, people who do not have an interest in our overall vision and goals. These people just pay money to share some of our extra space.As long as they continue to pay their rent on time and do not make a nuisance of themselves, how they live and what they do in general is of no consequence to us.

The second group is the people that are committed to our vision and goals who are dedicated to improving the lives of not just our community but of creating gradual world change.Instead of having a specific person that decides what we are or are not allowed to do we let our ideals decide. At any point where our goals alone are unable to provide a clear picture of what to do we put things to a vote.

What is the third group and how is it relevant? Click here to read on and see

How big is your shoe?

Although I have never been a Boy Scout, I have had many friends and family members who were. One of the things that they teach the kids really stuck out for me and is something that I strongly identify with. They say you should leave any area that you come to in the same or better condition than you found it. It’s called leaving a small footprint on the world around you.

 

This should kind of go without saying. I mean who is responsible for the state of the world today? That’s right people. They say there are around seven billion of us now. And if each person just went through life without paying any attention to their habits and the impact they have on the world, the world would quickly become a wreck. What’s that you say? It is a wreck?

 

When I first heard about this concept it appealed to me. I liked the idea of leaving every area that I passed through the exact same way I found it. I could tread in the footprints of other people and leave none of my own. It seemed stealthy and ninja like. Better yet, there would be no negative impact on society. I could make sure, that I personally did not make the world a worse place than it already is.

Big footprint? Ninja? World change? Click here for more

Good vs Evil

The battle of good against evil is thousands of years old. But what exactly is evil?

 

A couple of years ago, I was reading this book by David Farland.  Off the top of my head I do not remember which, but it was one of the books in his Runelords series.  And the question of good vs evil came up. One of the characters had a definition for evil. I am describing what I remember of what he said.

 

He said imagine a circle that includes all of your possessions and ideals and  thoughts. Now imagine that circle being inside a larger circle which is all of the possessions and ideals and thoughts of your family. And now imagine one more circle outside of that one which includes all of the possessions, ideals and thoughts of your community.

 

As you go through your life each of those circles should continue to grow. Things that contribute to that growth are good. Things that take away from or injure the occupants of those circles are evil.

To be honest, I really like the imagery involved in that. It’s very simple, cut and dried. A rival tribe comes into your community rapes, loots, plunders and murders your people. They are evil right? Against blatantly obvious examples, it allows you to feel justified in believing this system.It sounds good on the surface. But it’s really too simplistic.

What is good? What is evil. Click here to find out.