Congratulations to Obama and his supporters. Half of the nation is happy and the other half is disappointed. The pendulum has swung to its apogee, and it will eventually swing back. I don't have high hopes for the Obama and Dem control, but I do hope for the best. I find great relief that the campaign season has ended (but the next one has already started). In anticipation of tonight's result, I wrote the following, which describes how I handle disappointments in life. It is the 10,000 year question.
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Often when I am working on a particular project, I wonder if what I am doing is important at all. Since I translate patents from Japanese into English, I see many interesting ideas. Many of these patents are not ever put into practical application, and even if they are made into useful products, the technology often becomes obsolete within a few years.
At other times, I will watch a football game and the team I am rooting for does not win. After the game, I feel as if I wasted my time because I did not enjoy the result. Was the football game important to me at all even if "my team" had won?
At yet other times, social or political events will occur that cause me great disappointment. Such events often make me wonder, "Is this really important?" In some ways it would seem so, but in other ways it seems as silly as the football example.
The only way to really know if something is important is to apply the time test. If you experience a disappointment, or wonder about the value of what you are doing, ask yourself the following question.
"Will it matter to me personally in 10,000 years?"
If the answer is yes, then your question is probably related to a matter of human relationship (care for family, friends, and other fellow beings).
If the answer is no, then why should we be concerned?
As Mahatma Gandhi put it, "What you do is unimportant, but it is important that you do it." (Aren't chiasms wonderful?)
The hard thing about this life is that we must live in the here-and-now knowing that what we do is unimportant, yet somehow we don't always feel better knowing that it is important that we do it anyway.
3 comments:
I see your point on this. I only hope that the Republic of the United States and the Constitution are strong enough to withstand the "Change" about to come. Will it matter to me in 10,000 years? I wonder if the fall of the any society wondered the same thing.
Very nice thinking. Such thinking is at the heart of 20th century existential angst. You described it better than most.
This is Dad now I have tried to teach this principle many times, and I thought that I had quoted it to the family many times. When we are facing a decision we should ask ourselves this question:"Can, Does, or will this affect my eternity?" If the answer is yes, then the decision has relevance and importance. Otherwise, it is of little true importance, and you can be comfortable with what ever decision you make.
Love, Dad
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