Doc, thank you for your welcoming.
"I'm reminded of Ortega y Gasset's words: "The essence of man is purely
and simply danger. Man always travels among precipices, and, whether he
will or no, his truest obligation is to keep his balance."
I like this quote particularly for the principle of balance.
'I just wanted to ensure that I was not advocating, through this
misinterpretation, the acquisition of "battle skills." I did acquire and
hone those once, too. While they might be useful sometime, they are not
the same as the life mastery skills needed to keep my balance amidst the
dangers of life.'
The 'warriorship' that I was talking of truly concerns the 'life mastery
skills' of which you speak. The harmony and balance (Paul Pearsall's
'pono'; Hawaiian for balance) is an artful skill. The highest art for the
warrior is to 'win' without ever having to draw a weapon. Unfortunately
this also insures that the true warrior is never noticed. There are no
Rambo's here. I guess I don't want to be misunderstood either.
They (battle skills) may be useful sometime but mastery of skills for life
involves living more on the plateau (see George Leonard, "Mastery") as
opposed to continual peak experiences. That's not very exciting for most
and boring for many. But, for those engaged in the balancing act of which
you speak it is the most exciting and necessary experience of their life.
Yours in balancing,
Chuck
Name: Charles Gilbert VOC:(704)355-5261
Carolinas Medical Center FAX:(704)355-8424
Dept of Pediatric Research
PO Box 32861
Charlotte, NC 28232-2861
E-mail: cgilbert@mail.carolinas.org
{"The opinions are my own and not necessarily shared by my employer."}
Statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for efficient citizenship
as the ability to read and write.
-H.G. Wells
--"PHO - Charles Gilbert" <cgilbert@carolinas.org>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>