On Wed, 26 Jun Ilfryn Price wrote in part -
> The parable though Gary triggers the thought that the dilemma is posed as
> act for 'self-interest' versus 'altruism'. I suspect there is always going
> to be such a dilemma. Why are any of us here on the list for example. I
> could list a host of self-interested reasons and express, hopefully with
> validity, an equal set of 'good-values' driven reasons. I think we may
> have to learn to live with and accept both as a reality. The defence may
> be open-ness and honesty [a thought triggered by a recent post from Joan
> on another thread which has inadvertently gone the way of a discarded
> digest].
I contend that there is no dilemma because it is in one's own best
interest to be altruistic. It has been called feeding one's soul. Doing
the honest thing is a great source of personal pride and good feeling
about ourselves. Doing the wrong thing does damage to us and denies us the
good feelings. It is the difference between being like Mother Teresa or
being closer to the scum of life. It is choice we all get to make. To
think that it is somehow advantageous to take the watch in question for
our own use is to fail to understand how we were made. Ill-gotten material
wealth does damage to us. How many chips can be cut away before there is
little left of us? How do you want to live life and what do you want to
pass to your progeny? These are choices we all make, but the best road for
us and those we love is the narrow one of meeting the highest value
standards.
Regards, Joan
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Joan Pomo The Finest Tools for Managing People
Simonton Associates Based on the book
jpomo@gate.net "How to Unleash the Power of People"
--"jpomo@gate.net" <jpomo@gate.net>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>