Dare to Dwell

"Chronic remorse... is a most undesirable sentiment. If you have behaved badly, repent, make what amends you can and address yourself to the task of behaving better next time. On no account brood over your wrong-doing. Rolling in the muck is not the best way of getting clean.... Art also has its morality, and many of the rules of this morality are the same as, or at least analogous to, the rules of ordinary ethics. Remorse, for example, is as undesirable in relation to our bad art as it is in relation to our bad behaviour. The badness should be hunted out, acknowledged and, if possible, avoided in the future. To pore over the literary shortcomings of twenty years ago, to attempt to patch a faulty work into the perfection it missed at its first execution, to spend one's middle age in trying to mend the artistic sins committed and bequeathed by that different person who was oneself in youth-- all this is surely vain and futile. And that is why this new Brave New World is the same as the old one. Its defects as a work of art are considerable; but in order to correct them I should have to rewrite the book-- and in the process of rewriting, as an older, other person, I should probably get rid not only of some of the faults of the story, but also of such merits as it originally possessed. And so, resisting the temptation to wallow in artistic remorse, I prefer to leave both well and ill alone and to think about something else." ~Huxley

Monday, June 30, 2008

The Invisible Line


Love vs Obsession

This person enjoys going out with you, cannot stand a minute without you, cherishes every moment he or she has with you, cannot sleep without being with you, cannot breathe without thinking of you. Is that love?

Moral vs Immoral

Everyday, when the pledge of allegiance is announced, this person hears the words, "under God," he or she does not believe in that though, but the administrators keep the intercom on anyway, because those two words "under God" are inspirational, in some way, unifies the people, it is what we worship. This person does not care though, for he or she does not believe in God, perhaps because this person is of a different religion; but one day, he or she has heard years and years of the words "under God," and begins to believe. Is that moral?

Reality vs Fantasy

This person has been dreaming all of his or her life to be a singing star, but his or her parents tell their son or daughter to face reality, that it is not practical, that it cannot be done. Money is not spent at all toward his or her dreams, not given a chance. This person ends up going the conventional route: high school, college, an internship, a job. Did the parents really know this person could not reach the goal? Was this person's dream really unrealistic?

Creativity vs Insanity

This person has the best idea ever: teleporting. He or she skips school, does not ever go to high school or college. Everyday, he or she sits in the laboratory creating gizmos and gadgets until one day, maybe, he or she will create one that works. This person sets aside at least five years of his or her life trying to perfect the teleport. If it works, this person is a multimillionaire, or even better. If not, destitute. Is this person insane?

Courage vs Stupidity

This person wants to successfully reach the summit of Mount Everest not once, but twice. Obviously, each time he or she climbs this magnificent, daunting mountain, it is quite dangerous, life-threatening perhaps. The person does not make it on the second attempt. Is this person courageous?

Gambling vs Greed

This person has won five straight poker hands, but the odds are against him with the cards he holds this time. But then again, he has won five straight hands. He decides to call his opponent's all-in bet and loses. Was that due to an act of selfishness?

Light Blue vs Dark Blue

Two people look into the distance, as the ocean waves splash and seep through the sand. As the water flows closer and closer to you, it's dark blue, but as you look further and further away, it becomes a light blue. Where does it change? Can the two of you come to an agreement on where?

Pain vs Pleasure

You are working out, the muscles tighten as you lift the weights, the adrenaline rushes as you jog. The next morning, you're cramping, wondering how much you weigh, wondering if it was all worth it. Nevertheless, you go out and exercise, work out again to look good. Is that pain?

You want more chocolates. You just need more. One is not enough. You are just going to eat some while you're bored, because you love those chocolates. Meanwhile, your body takes in more and more sugar. Is that pleasure?

War vs Peace

You have tried solving it in every way possible, supposedly. You have tried diplomacy, compromise, negotiation, everything. But nothing has worked. So you decide to take a further extremity: divorce papers, club fights, pushing and shoving, tackling, arguing, complaining, crying, stabbing, ammunition, war. Did that really solve the problem?

It all depends right?

Maybe there will never be agreement with these items or anything else we come up with, or maybe we're just not trying hard enough. To be in a happy world, everyone needs to be happy, but there also needs to be balance. People will continue to complain and argue in this world about the smallest things. But maybe the fine line could be less mysterious if we just appreciated what we had, if we just felt blessed with what we can do. Maybe life isn't so complicated and we just complicate it further. Maybe we just create those fine lines ourselves to make excuses. Maybe we just don't see it the way we are supposed to see it. So as we keep tipping the scale back and forth, the question is: will we ever reach equilibrium?
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