hat
many people do not understand is that every time we buy an
asset, whether it be a hot dog , a stock, a bond, a car, a
home, or a bank CD, we are taking a risk.
Among the risks we take is that we might be buying an
inferior product or entering into a deceptive transaction.
Someone might be trying to deceive or cheat us.
Or we might just misunderstand or be ignorant about the
implications. When
any one person is cheated or deceived, everyone in society is
harmed. Every lie,
every dishonesty impacts the consciousness in which we live…
and so does every act of courage in pursuit of truth and
intellectual integrity. We
need to relearn the lessons of history and teach them to our
children.
We are facing a great
economic crisis and we are all responsible. We choose our
leaders. We decide
how to spend our time. We
choose the order of our preferences and our goals.
We decide what’s important and how much attention to
devote to what’s important.
We choose what to study and how much time to spend
trying to understand what we think is important.
We decide who we will trust and whether or not we
should trust ourselves.
In ignorance or arrogance we sometimes make choices we
regret. Sometimes
we blame others for our own failings or negligence.
This is how it is.
Anger clouds our
judgment; arrogance does too.
Life is complicated.
Greed is an empty promise.
Taking advantage of others is cowardice.
We can’t hope to understand everything or become an
expert in very many things.
Many of us suffer circumstances we cannot control.
We are all learning; so it is foolish to lament or beat
ourselves up about loss due to inexperience or
misunderstanding. The
best we can do is take responsibility for our decisions and
circumstances and strive to do better … to seek perfection
in our attitude even though we know we will never be
perfect… to seek
understanding and justice... to do our part… hold up our end
of the bargain… tell the truth… face and take
responsibility for our errors… and keep going… to forgive
ourselves and others. and yet not cave in or sell out.
Love and compassion make life tolerable and worth all
the ups and downs.
Nature is beautiful;
children are wonderful; love is magical.
Art inspires and teaches us.
Kindness is ennobling… it dignifies, humbles, and
makes us grateful to be alive.
Poetry and music join us together as family…
and offers us understanding beyond limitations of language.
Every end is a new
beginning, an opportunity.
We shall rejoice in the future, and honor the lessons
we learn from the past. We
will become wise, courageous, and decent.
And being decent will bring us together and we will
find happiness in the wonderment of ourselves, of one
another, and of life itself.
Poverty is not the absence of things, but rather it is the
absence of courage and the unwillingness to take
responsibility for what’s so.
So we are not destined to be poor for we are brave and
resourceful. We
have everything we need. And
the thing we need most is one another.