The Funny Past

In this week's quote feature, we will be taking a look at C.S. Lewis, an author who will be familiar to most of you.  If you don't know who he is, he is the author of The Screwtape Letters, the Narnia series, and Till We Have Faces.  Read the following quote and think about it.

Interesting, isn't it?  Can you relate to what he means?  I know I can.  Every day, I'll come home to my father or my mother asking me how my day was, and I say "good" every single day, because it seems as if the same events happened.  Each day was the same when given little thought at the time.  But now, as a grown man, I look back at my middle school and Elementary years, and it its no longer the normal day that I see.  But a collection days, in which I learned something new every day.  And something different in each of the classes But, that's not how it felt like back then.

I think this is the point he is trying to get across.  Even though it may seem that every day is the same, in reality, it is not.  Each and everyday is important, different, and unique.  This quote doesn't require a lot of translating to understand it fully, as it is pretty straight forward in the message it wants to get across.  I have to say that I have never noticed this, but I do find it funny, now that it has been pointed out.

The Dead End

        Has there ever been a time when you have just wanted to hurt someone?  Not just hurt them because you want to, but because you felt as if they did something wrong against you.  Or, they actually harmed you, not just doing something wrong.  This feeling is most commonly referred to as revenge.  Read the small quote below by Douglas Horton.

Now, think about this for a second.  Dig a second grave?  You might at first be confused, as how would killing or hurting one person come back on you?  Actually, it is very clear and simple.  There has never been a story of revenge that has ever come to make the revengee happy or feel better.  It only makes them feel worse in the long run, even if it does feel good for a second.  All you will do in the end is drag yourself down with the other you are trying to pull down.

This can be seen in Shakespeare's famous work of Hamlet.  Hamlet's father, also named Hamlet, orders Hamlet to take revenge on the man who killed him, which is Hamlet's uncle.  The whole play is based upon this, and Hamlet gets his revenge in the end, killing his uncle to set thing's right.  But, in this heroic tragedy, Hamlet also dies from the poisoned point of a rapier that he had been stabbed with during his sword duel with Laertes.  He literally became the second grave.

Revenge only steeps you down to a lower level than where you actually belong.  Someone who forgives is usually a happier person than the one that seeks revenge and drives himself or herself mad in the process.

Courage

Sir Winston Churchill is a widely known historical figure.  He was the Prime Minister of England during the course of the World War II.  As soon as World War II was over, he was removed from his position at Prime Minister.  Today, we have a quote from him in the image below concerning courage.  Take a moment to read and ponder it.

When I first read this, I was extremely confused.  I view this situation as a classroom, so standing up, sitting down, speaking, and listening are seemingly the four main things that go on during a class period. So, according to this quote, it takes courage to do anything?  That seems pretty odd.  Everything I do takes courage, which I can see as true in a way, but I don't believe this is what he means.  What is it that he could possibly mean by this quote then?

We know, or if you didn't know, that Winston Churchill was a politician.  Throughout his life, some of his beliefs and writings were very controversial in the political community.  When we have a controversy, then there tends to be an argument to which there tends to be at least two sides.  Let's look at it from a political perspective, and a controversial one.  I believe that this quote needs to be split down the middle, since he is talking about two people showing courage in different ways in the same situation.  This isn't advice for just one person.  We begin with a statement that is made by someone in a room.  Now, everyone can just sit there, takes this statement as fact or as the right course of action, without voicing their own opinions.  But, the person who does stand up and speak his opinion, especially if he or she believes it is wrong.  At that moment in time, the opposing person is fighting peer pressure and stepping outside of the norm.  That is the first half of the quote anyways.  

The second half of the quote goes back to the person that made the original statement.  This person could just cut off the opposing person and not listen to anything he says.  Or, he can seemingly listen, but really disregard everything that is said.  In either case, he is essentially ignoring any advice or insight that he, himself, may not have had in the first place.  Therefore, it takes courage to sit down and listen. Actually listen to what is being said, and take it into account.  And, if you are wrong, then it is okay to admit it in front of everyone.  

This just goes to show that there are so many ways to show courage, and each situation will be different.  Each of these people are doing completely opposite acts, but they are showing courage because of the situation at hand.

Chain Image

Mutual Relationships

This week, we go to visit one of our founding father, Mr. Abraham Lincoln.  Surely, everyone knows who Abraham Lincoln is.  We all know of his enormous involvement in heading the Civil War for the Abolotionist North versus the Confederate South.  Mr. Lincoln grew up in Kentucky, before starting off his career as a politician.  He was a very hands on man at home, since his family was not well off, but had to work for a living.  I believe he came up with this quote provided in the Image below.



Think about what you read for a minute.  Can you put it into any context of your own?  I see this as a Mutual Relationship style of quote.  What do I mean by that exactly?  Well, this sounds very familiar to saying that if you take care of something, then it will take care of you.  So, a man needs to proud of where he lives.  Proud is defined as "feeling deep pleasure or satisfication as a result of one's own achievements, qualities, or possessions or those of someone with whom one is closely associated."  So this means that must feel at home wherever he lives.  He has to be satisfied with where lives, and the qualities of this home. If he is proud of his home, he will take care of it, to make sure that those qualities don't go away.

If he is able to take care of the home, then it will return the favor to home.  It will continue to shelter him from the outdoor weather and protect him.  So it will be satisfied with the qualities that this man has and, figuratively speaking, accepts him into itself.  It's a very interesting concept, and one that continues to this day.  I have heard many a time that if you take care of your care, it will take care of you.  And there tends to be more respect for someone who takes care of their things, than someone who does not.  And this idea was even present back in Abraham Lincoln's time.  Are you proud of where you live?  Enough, that it is proud of you?