Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.
Alexander PopeRead
Extremes in nature equal ends produce; In man they join to some mysterious use.
Interpretation
The extremes in nature create balance, and in humans, they serve a purpose that may be beyond our understanding.
Alexander Pope's quote reflects on the duality and balance present in both nature and humanity. He suggests that just as extremes in nature lead to an equilibrium, the conflicting qualities and extremes found within individuals play a crucial role in shaping their purpose and contributions to the world, often in ways that are not immediately clear to us.
In practice
This quote could serve as inspiration for a discussion about environmental sustainability.
Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.
What dire offence from am'rous causes springs, What mighty contests rise from trivial things.
Fair tresses man's imperial race ensnare; And beauty draws us with a single hair.
An honest man's the noblest work of God.
One thought of thee puts all the pomp to flight;_x000D_ _x000D_ Priests, tapers, temples, swim before my sight.
Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?
There is nothing like death to say what is always such an artificial thing to say: The End.
I came with the notion of perhaps saying something for monks and to monks of all religions because I am supposed to be a monk. ... My dear brothers, WE ARE ALREADY ONE. BUT WE IMAGINE THAT WE ARE NOT. And what we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are
I would say as a journalist, I would envision travelling to other countries that have had to reckon with their past and see how they've done it: what worked, what didn't work, finding characters that would tell the story of how that process was done.
Most damage that others do us is out of fear, humiliation and pain. Those feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain religious or racial devotion.
So a voice in the mountain is enough to let loose an avalanche. A word too much may be followed by a caving in. If the word had not been spoken, it would not have happened.
Worship, I say, rises or falls with our concept of God .... and if there is one terrible disease in the Church of Christ, it is that we do not see God as great as He is.
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