Situations Running Through My Head

Part VI (My Response)

I agree with you on the intrinsic value of activities and also agree with you on the idea that a meaningful life can be lived in isolation, but that may not mean that you have lived the "most" meaningful life. It's that pesky idea of potential. The idea of potential drives some people to paralysis because they're constantly wondering what is necessary to reach their full potential, and in that constant search, they never actually start moving down a path towards development. On the other hand, there are people who have no conception of what they might be able to become.

This is a bit off topic, but I think we're working free form here in a manner akin to jazz, but I do wonder what I will be like in ten, twenty, thirty, or fifty years if I actually live to see such milestones. It's convenient to think that I'll be pretty similar to the way I am now, but the idea not growing and expanding, moving and learning, developing into something different strikes me as a deeply frightening one. I guess that the problem that people and organizations have had to deal with throughout the ages: How do we keep our core values intact while also being sensitive to the way the world, and those who move in it, are changing?

I see the idea of pride in very similar manner to our discussion of isolation versus community. It once again comes down to balance. An excess amount of pride/selfishness can cause me to lose track of those around me and be sensitive to their needs. On the other hand (I need to find an alternate method of rhetorically shifting to the opposing viewpoint), an extreme lack of pride or selfishness can cause to never think of how we might develop, how we might grow, and how we might achieve. I'm not sure if I would go to the same place on the idea of selfishness as Rand, but I think a healthy amount of pride and self-worth is necessary for the greater good.