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Today's
quotation:
All ages have said and
repeated that one should strive to know one's self. This
is a strange demand which no one up to now has measured
up to and,
strictly considered, no one should. With all their study and effort, people are directed to what is outside,
to the world about them, and they are kept busy coming to
know this and to master it to the extent that their purposes require. . . . How can you come to know yourself?
Never by thinking, always by doing. Try to do your duty,
and you'll know right away what you amount to. And what
is your duty? Whatever the day calls for.
Johann
Wolfgang
von Goethe
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Today's
Meditation:
"Whatever
the day calls for"--I love that line.
Sometimes I get so caught up in what I think I should be
doing that I lose sight of what needs to be done right
here, right now. Yes, the paper needs to be written,
but my step-daughter needs a ride to something right
now. Yes, I would love to be working on another
novel, but the bathroom wall needs to be fixed.
These aren't obstacles to living--they're life, and
they're what today is calling for.
Goethe
makes a claim that seems to be contrary to contemporary
belief--that we can't know ourselves. I'm not sure
that I agree with him on that, but I do agree that our
highest calling is to the world around us, to the people
with whom we share this world of ours. We learn
about life through our interactions with others, even if
that interaction is reading words written by others.
While life in a monastery or convent, shut off from the
rest of the world, may be right for some people, we never
get to know our potential and limitations if we don't deal
with other human beings, if we don't do our
"duty," which is the task before us.
Sometimes,
that task is rest so that we can gather our energy for the
next task. Sometimes, that task is to help someone
else. Other times, that task is to do something for
ourselves. A great task is to sit and enjoy a
movie--entertainment helps us to clear our minds of many
of the stress-causing elements of our lives.
My
duty today is to be me, and to do the things that I know
are necessary. I don't have any other duties, and I
shouldn't take on any others that don't contribute to
making me the person I am. I can't take on anyone
else's responsibilities, and I can't try to be everything
for everyone. By recognizing my duties, I free
myself from all that isn't my duty.
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