Sorry I'm late on this one. . .my glasses have been broken, and
reading from a computer monitor gives me a massive headache. . .
Anyway, Joan clarifies what she means by a positive attitude by
saying, "Having a positive attitude in no way includes accepting bad
actions or bad conditions. Ben, you have made a very large assumption
which does not apply to my beliefs. I believe that coupled with high
values, and these would certainly include compassion and individual
freedom, a positive attitude equips a person with the fortitude to go
to war with Germany or to fight against the autocratic, bureaucratic
company hierarchy which damages people. A positive attitude supports
our confidence and courage and is an indispensable attribute without
which we will not succeed against heavy odds. I believe that the poem
"Invictus" pretty much describes it."
Thanks for the clarification. I like the poem Invictus. I memorized
it when I was 19. I agree that we should have great confidence in our
ability to make a positive difference. I just want to emphasize that
sometimes we have to be negative in order to create positive change.
One of the reasons I probably jumped to the conclusion I did is my
wife loves being positive. All around the house she has happy little
sayings hanging from the walls. (My person favorite is in the master
bath, and hangs above the toilet paper dispenser. It reads: "Go tear
it up!") Anyway, my wife and I go around and around about the PMA
stuff. On the whole I like it, except, of course, when I want to be
negative for a little while. . .then it's obnoxious.
Thanks again, Joan, for the clarification.
--Ben Compton <bcompton@novell.com>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>