"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." Francis of Assisi
“Fyodor Dostoyevsky [1921-1881] lived in a hopeless time and place, a world of pogroms, starvation, filth, and syphilis. His life was plagued by epilepsy, mental problems, and poverty. Yet he left this message: ‘Love all of God’s creation, the whole of it and every grain of sand. Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light! Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. And once you have perceived it, you will begin to comprehend it ceaselessly, more and more every day. And you will at last come to love the whole world with an abiding, universal love.” Pipher M. “Writing to change the world.” Riverhead Books, NY, 2006.
• the "lone wolf" going beyond societal conventions • fame, regardless of how it's achieved • bending & breaking rules "to win" • a "winner" At the same time, the US - the poster child for this ethos - incarcerates more people per capita than any other country. We energetically punish "losers" - those who failed to evade our law enforcement and judicial systems. Convicted criminals embarrass us, not because they caused individuals and society to suffer, nor because we / society failed them, but because they spotlight our society's, and our own personal, psychosocialspiritual poverty. "The one who dies with the most toys wins" is the tragicomedic philosophy of life for too many of us. Big business has successfully converted society into a global feedlot of deadheads mindlessly "consuming" ever greater quantities of mass-produced garbage. Mary Jo Leddy, author of "Radical Gratitude", on CBC radio's Tapestry (10/13/02), pointed out therelationship between inherent, endemic dissatisfaction in consumer societies, and a deep sense of emptiness, inadequacy, powerlessness.
