In more than thirty years as a writer, editor, and publisher, I have, to my best reckoning, introduced, abridged, issued or reissued, and read nearly every major work of inspirational literature produced or translated into English.
As a reluctant Catholic-schooled kiddo whose lived a βcuriosity is the fountain of youthβ sort of ethos since I was 5 (unknowingly then and knowingly now) β I could never truly give biblical scripture its dues until I started reading Neville years ago. Matthew 10:16 has always been a top favorite to abide by.
Iβve always appreciated your anti-gossip stance. Gossip is so evil and destructiveβ¦..those who βdish the dirtβ donβt realize that the ugliness they spew will eventually boomerang back to them.
Word. Talmudic story: A student is walking in a cave and sees a skull floating in dank waters. "How did you get here?" the student asks. "I drowned others with my words," the skull replies, "until they returned to drown me."
And it doesn't even have to be evil to be destructive. Regular, everyday gossip displaces real conversation, and is "disrespectful". Maybe better words will arise later.
Many many of these validate personal beliefs that have taken years of painful life lessons to learn, and I am grateful for every one of them. Thank you.
Great list! As a therapist I struggle with #100, curious if there are others in a similar situation and what solutions they have explored or resources they have found helpful?
My favourites: 32, 33 and 34; 85 is most encouraging!; and 93 should be my personal muse. Re. the 8 of coins: it brings to mind one more rule -- I can never find the original quote, but it's Jung, and something like: do what you must do gladly.
On the whole, this is a wee bit pessimistic to this girl who was raised in the hygge of love and trust in Danish culture...A great deal of wisdom can be summarized in what my mother taught us: "It doesn't matter how other people behave; it only matters how YOU behave."
#s 41 & 66. I've been working on being less sarcastic and less of a smartass. I've grown up with parents who mix it up with many different types of humor, including dry and dark--except goofball, which I love most. Goofball humor is, to me, a part of playtime in life. These are very helpful and well-grounded rules to live by. I like them very much.
#89: "Arrogance is stupidity," gives me pause, though. I've been working on a book that shares the idea that stupidity isn't real & the word 'stupid' is just a word used to unfairly insult another person--derogatory term. It's also used as a way to dismiss a person or idea without having to explain or even think about why they believe stupidity is the right word. I think that stupidity is blaming a person for their not knowing or not being aware of something that person is, or at least, is pretending they are to save face.
Not knowing, or ignorance, isn't something a person is always in control of. In this case, I would say "Arrogance is ignorance of self." If I use the word stupidity, then I'm angry. But that's me, not everyone else, necessarily. And I'm no angel. I have used the word stupid when I've felt anger toward a person or idea that irks me. How am I going to finish writing this book with a clear conscience?!
Guess what lives as a giant monster in my shadow? LOL.
I don't mean this as a critique on your use of the word 'stupidity.' I'm questioning my own ideas about stupidity as opposed to ignorance or not knowing. Maybe my 'Not Stupid' book isn't a good idea. Or maybe it is & will help many people who've kept themselves small with the fear of being called 'stupid?' My goal with the book is to show that stupidity is only ignorance, for both the actor and the one judging. It's my own little rebellion against one of my biggest fears I've allowed to keep me from bravely going for what I really want to do. I want to not care and not be bothered by people calling me stupid. LOL, maybe I can mix this all together. With my goofball attitude I can just fully express myself with the goal of people calling me stupid. I can go 'Jim Carrey' on everyone. I don't know. I'm working on it all.
Congratulations, Mitch .You Invented the Fortune Cookie.
This isnβt wisdom. Itβs a laundry list. Itβs a flex. Itβs the literary equivalent of doing pushups in a crowded bar. Youβre a tourist in every tradition,You call it βethicsβ but itβs branding. You call it βrulesβ but itβs just the same circular advice every self help Plato has been peddling since Norman Vincent Peale.
Rule 1 should be- Stop pretending you invented morality
Occult doctrine for the card however suggests it is not so much a card of work or labor as of passive adroitness, planting oneβs seeds skillfully and then relying on the abundance of the usual conditions (which may or may not manifest) to achieve the goals. The pentacles in this card are described as trophies, like the person mainly works to affirm his ego and so displays the products of his labor as signs of his accomplishment. On the other hand, the Three of Pentacles, where the suggestion is made that the master has sublimated his ego in service to a great work, is in fact called βWorkβ or βWorksβ. The pentacles are still signs of his accomplishment, but that isnβt the chief point of them. Either could illustrate your theme, depending on where one is in their development as a person and a worker.
As a reluctant Catholic-schooled kiddo whose lived a βcuriosity is the fountain of youthβ sort of ethos since I was 5 (unknowingly then and knowingly now) β I could never truly give biblical scripture its dues until I started reading Neville years ago. Matthew 10:16 has always been a top favorite to abide by.
Iβve always appreciated your anti-gossip stance. Gossip is so evil and destructiveβ¦..those who βdish the dirtβ donβt realize that the ugliness they spew will eventually boomerang back to them.
Word. Talmudic story: A student is walking in a cave and sees a skull floating in dank waters. "How did you get here?" the student asks. "I drowned others with my words," the skull replies, "until they returned to drown me."
And it doesn't even have to be evil to be destructive. Regular, everyday gossip displaces real conversation, and is "disrespectful". Maybe better words will arise later.
Many many of these validate personal beliefs that have taken years of painful life lessons to learn, and I am grateful for every one of them. Thank you.
Wonderful list. Can you post it to me through time so I could have read it 55 years earlier? :-)
Great list! As a therapist I struggle with #100, curious if there are others in a similar situation and what solutions they have explored or resources they have found helpful?
My favourites: 32, 33 and 34; 85 is most encouraging!; and 93 should be my personal muse. Re. the 8 of coins: it brings to mind one more rule -- I can never find the original quote, but it's Jung, and something like: do what you must do gladly.
https://medium.com/@rillwater/the-eight-of-coins-8638a8660483
Forgive me if I'm not supposed to share my own writing on another's platform: we can add another rule: never trumpet ones own horn :)
Very helpful. Thanks.
On the whole, this is a wee bit pessimistic to this girl who was raised in the hygge of love and trust in Danish culture...A great deal of wisdom can be summarized in what my mother taught us: "It doesn't matter how other people behave; it only matters how YOU behave."
#s 41 & 66. I've been working on being less sarcastic and less of a smartass. I've grown up with parents who mix it up with many different types of humor, including dry and dark--except goofball, which I love most. Goofball humor is, to me, a part of playtime in life. These are very helpful and well-grounded rules to live by. I like them very much.
#89: "Arrogance is stupidity," gives me pause, though. I've been working on a book that shares the idea that stupidity isn't real & the word 'stupid' is just a word used to unfairly insult another person--derogatory term. It's also used as a way to dismiss a person or idea without having to explain or even think about why they believe stupidity is the right word. I think that stupidity is blaming a person for their not knowing or not being aware of something that person is, or at least, is pretending they are to save face.
Not knowing, or ignorance, isn't something a person is always in control of. In this case, I would say "Arrogance is ignorance of self." If I use the word stupidity, then I'm angry. But that's me, not everyone else, necessarily. And I'm no angel. I have used the word stupid when I've felt anger toward a person or idea that irks me. How am I going to finish writing this book with a clear conscience?!
Guess what lives as a giant monster in my shadow? LOL.
I don't mean this as a critique on your use of the word 'stupidity.' I'm questioning my own ideas about stupidity as opposed to ignorance or not knowing. Maybe my 'Not Stupid' book isn't a good idea. Or maybe it is & will help many people who've kept themselves small with the fear of being called 'stupid?' My goal with the book is to show that stupidity is only ignorance, for both the actor and the one judging. It's my own little rebellion against one of my biggest fears I've allowed to keep me from bravely going for what I really want to do. I want to not care and not be bothered by people calling me stupid. LOL, maybe I can mix this all together. With my goofball attitude I can just fully express myself with the goal of people calling me stupid. I can go 'Jim Carrey' on everyone. I don't know. I'm working on it all.
Congratulations, Mitch .You Invented the Fortune Cookie.
This isnβt wisdom. Itβs a laundry list. Itβs a flex. Itβs the literary equivalent of doing pushups in a crowded bar. Youβre a tourist in every tradition,You call it βethicsβ but itβs branding. You call it βrulesβ but itβs just the same circular advice every self help Plato has been peddling since Norman Vincent Peale.
Rule 1 should be- Stop pretending you invented morality
Rule 2- Practice what you preach.
Rule- Nobody needs 98 more after that.
Why the Eight of Pentacles?
A man at work.
Occult doctrine for the card however suggests it is not so much a card of work or labor as of passive adroitness, planting oneβs seeds skillfully and then relying on the abundance of the usual conditions (which may or may not manifest) to achieve the goals. The pentacles in this card are described as trophies, like the person mainly works to affirm his ego and so displays the products of his labor as signs of his accomplishment. On the other hand, the Three of Pentacles, where the suggestion is made that the master has sublimated his ego in service to a great work, is in fact called βWorkβ or βWorksβ. The pentacles are still signs of his accomplishment, but that isnβt the chief point of them. Either could illustrate your theme, depending on where one is in their development as a person and a worker.
I see no contradiction. I have a more generous interpretation of pentacles.
I'm sure you are very generous to yourself in such matters. But it isn't a bad thing to learn more.
You are in deeper waters than you know. And this isnβt X.
No, it's a place where if you have something to teach, there are people here that will listen. I do not see your waters. So be generous. No?