Skip to main content

Thoughts on Character

1. Ralph Waldo Emerson once penned these words (or something close to it): “Do not say things. What you are stands over you the while and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary.” In other words, a person’s actions will tell much more about her than her words. We know others by their courage or their cowardice, by their diligence or their idleness, and by their kindness or their cruelty. Interestingly enough, we find we are inspired by the courageous, diligent, and kind of heart; and yet turned away by the cowardly, idle, and cruel. Why is this true? I believe it is because we see something in the former that we seek for ourselves. We want to become more than we are, and when we see others who personify that dream, we are moved to action.

2. The word character originally referred to the mark that was fashioned by an engraving tool; specifically, the mark you found on a coin. This is a telling definition, because it implies that the qualities that make us who we are can never be formed by us alone. Like an engraving, our character is always defined, always fashioned, by something outside of ourselves. If this seems a fatalistic view, then understand that we very much have a choice about what we allow to define us. Will we listen to other people’s criticism, or will we choose to hear their encouragement, however faint the sound may sometimes be?

3. Perhaps one of the most difficult things in life is to be honest, both with others and– especially– with yourself. The honest person, however, is a person of insight. This person knows, above all, that there is more at stake than gaining what lies directly in front of you, and sees that personal integrity– whatever the risk– is of greater worth than that which tempts you at the moment.

4. Generosity is often thought of in financial terms. When we think of being generous, we think of giving our money to a person or cause; and why not? This is among the most tangible and visible ways to be generous. There is, however, another variety of generosity that, if you’ve seen it in action, is no less giving and no less kind. It is a generosity of spirit, a gift of the self that involves time, energy, and perhaps most importantly, position. It sends the message that your needs are as important as—or even more important than-- my own.

5. We take it for granted that some of the quietest things in our world are also some of the most powerful. The moon, silent as it is to us, exerts great force on our oceans and lights an otherwise dark sky. The wind is heard only by the objects it passes, and yet its consistent, pounding force can uproot even the most venerable trees. Even a simple gesture—like a smile—makes no sound, and yet if it is genuine, it has the power to change the heart of even the most stoic, unfeeling person.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Heroes

Although we have several examples of heroes in our day, one of the best known is of a woman named Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu (“Gonja Bojaju”), who devoted her life to sustaining the “poor, sick, orphaned, and dying.” Her venue was Calcutta, India, where she served as a teacher until she began to take notice of the poverty there. Seeking to do something about it, she began an organization that consisted of just thirteen members at its inception. Called the “Missionaries of Charity,” the organization would eventually burgeon into well over 5,000 members worldwide, running approximately 600 missions, schools and shelters in 120 countries; and caring for the orphaned, blind, aged, disabled, and poor. As her personal work expanded, she traveled to countries like Lebanon, where she rescued 37 children from a hospital by pressing for peace between Israel and Palestine; to Ethiopia, where she traveled to help the hungry; to Chernobyl, Russia, to assist victims of the nuclear meltdown there; and to ...

The Nice Guy Fallacy

I read part of a poem recently by one of my favorite poets. It reads: I envy not in any moods The captive void of noble rage The linnet born within the cage That never knew the summer woods. I envy not the beast that takes His license in the field of time Unfetter'd by the sense of crime To whom a conscience never wakes. Nor what may call itself as bles't The heart that never plighted troth But stagnates in the weeds of sloth Nor any want-begotten rest. I hold it true, whate'er befall I feel it, when I sorrow most 'Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all. At base, Tennyson contrasted a life of risk, and consequent pain, with one of security. He sides conclusively with the life of risk, and says he fails to envy those who have faced no hardship. I agree with him; and, for good or ill, his words are just as relevant today as they were in the nineteenth century. Like then, there are those today who choose to live their lives with as little risk as...

Comparative Medical Care

One thing I'd like to understand is why there is such a difference between medical costs here and those in Haiti. At the time the book Mountains Beyond Mountains was written, in 2003, it often cost $15,000 to $20,000 annually to treat a patient with tuberculosis, while it cost one one-hundredth of that-- $150 to $200-- to treat a patient for the disease in Haiti. Even if the figures aren't completely accurate, the sheer difference would still be there. Indeed, the United States pays more per capita for medical care than any other country on Earth. My first guess for why the disparity exists is that there is a market willing and able to pay more for medical treatment, so suppliers see the demand and respond with higher prices. According to at least one doctor (go to http://scienceblogs.com/denialism/2009/05/what_is_the_cause_of_excess_co.php), part of the reason is administrative prices here. People here have a higher standard of living, and so the cost of care is shifted to ...