Speaking Of Good and Evil

[pat-tekker-cat]

I was listening to a sermon/speech/talk the other day. The man was at a meeting, when another man next to him asked, if he ever got an allowance as a child. He replied, "yes, every week".
The man asking him, then told him, "I never got an allowance as a child. My parents were alcoholics, they drank every penny they had. There was no money to buy the baby food, so I would go steal baby food from the store to feed him".

The orator said, he stopped judging people, after that encounter. He also went on to read a poem;

Speak To Us Of Good and Evil


And one of the elders of the city said, "Speak to us of Good and Evil."

And he answered:

Of the good in you I can speak, but not of the evil.

For what is evil but good tortured by its own hunger and thirst?

Verily when good is hungry it seeks food even in dark caves, and when it thirsts, it drinks even of dead waters.

You are good when you are one with yourself.

Yet when you are not one with yourself you are not evil.

For a divided house is not a den of thieves; it is only a divided house.

And a ship without rudder may wander aimlessly among perilous isles yet sink not to the bottom.

You are good when you strive to give of yourself.

Yet you are not evil when you seek gain for yourself.

For when you strive for gain you are but a root that clings to the earth and sucks at her breast.

Surely the fruit cannot say to the root, "Be like me, ripe and full and ever giving of your abundance."

For to the fruit giving is a need, as receiving is a need to the root.

You are good when you are fully awake in your speech,

Yet you are not evil when you sleep while your tongue staggers without purpose.

And even stumbling speech may strengthen a weak tongue.

You are good when you walk to your goal firmly and with bold steps.

Yet you are not evil when you go thither limping.

Even those who limp go not backward.

But you who are strong and swift, see that you do not limp before the lame, deeming it kindness.

You are good in countless ways, and you are not evil when you are not good,

You are only loitering and sluggard.

Pity that the stags cannot teach swiftness to the turtles.

In your longing for your giant self lies your goodness: and that longing is in all of you.

But in some of you that longing is a torrent rushing with might to the sea, carrying the secrets of the hillsides and the songs of the forest.

And in others it is a flat stream that loses itself in angles and bends and lingers before it reaches the shore.

But let not him who longs much say to him who longs little, "Wherefore are you slow and halting?"

For the truly good ask not the naked, "Where is your garment?" nor the houseless, "What has befallen your house?"


Khalil Gibran

 

[Frankn]

I was listening to a sermon/speech/talk the other day. The man was at a meeting, when another man next to him asked, if he ever got an allowance as a child. He replied, "yes, every week".
The man asking him, then told him, "I never got an allowance as a child. My parents were alcoholics, they drank every penny they had. There was no money to buy the baby food, so I would go steal baby food from the store to feed him".

The orator said, he stopped judging people, after that encounter. He also went on to read a poem;

Speak To Us Of Good and Evil


And one of the elders of the city said, "Speak to us of Good and Evil."

And he answered:

Of the good in you I can speak, but not of the evil.

For what is evil but good tortured by its own hunger and thirst?

Verily when good is hungry it seeks food even in dark caves, and when it thirsts, it drinks even of dead waters.

You are good when you are one with yourself.

Yet when you are not one with yourself you are not evil.

For a divided house is not a den of thieves; it is only a divided house.

And a ship without rudder may wander aimlessly among perilous isles yet sink not to the bottom.

You are good when you strive to give of yourself.

Yet you are not evil when you seek gain for yourself.

For when you strive for gain you are but a root that clings to the earth and sucks at her breast.

Surely the fruit cannot say to the root, "Be like me, ripe and full and ever giving of your abundance."

For to the fruit giving is a need, as receiving is a need to the root.

You are good when you are fully awake in your speech,

Yet you are not evil when you sleep while your tongue staggers without purpose.

And even stumbling speech may strengthen a weak tongue.

You are good when you walk to your goal firmly and with bold steps.

Yet you are not evil when you go thither limping.

Even those who limp go not backward.

But you who are strong and swift, see that you do not limp before the lame, deeming it kindness.

You are good in countless ways, and you are not evil when you are not good,

You are only loitering and sluggard.

Pity that the stags cannot teach swiftness to the turtles.

In your longing for your giant self lies your goodness: and that longing is in all of you.

But in some of you that longing is a torrent rushing with might to the sea, carrying the secrets of the hillsides and the songs of the forest.

And in others it is a flat stream that loses itself in angles and bends and lingers before it reaches the shore.

But let not him who longs much say to him who longs little, "Wherefore are you slow and halting?"

For the truly good ask not the naked, "Where is your garment?" nor the houseless, "What has befallen your house?"


Khalil Gibran

I wonder, does he have the 3 monkeys on his desk?
never more

 

[davest]

been a long, long time since I read Khalil Gibran. Now I'll have to look under my Whole Earth Catalog and Furry Freak Bros comix to see if I can find his teachings. Watch out attic, here I come.

 

[Frankn]

Well you got the sermon above, now here's a dose of reality to wash it down. There are both good and evil in the world that constantly try to balance like the blindfolded justice gal with the scale. Like the old martial art circle which contains black and white with a curver deviding line. The balance goes back and forth. For example during WWII the evil side held the balance. And today the scale wobbles in the Muslim countries . Even in this country, the scale is tipping today with power grabbing at the top. There are always some that have to ' vanish' to balance the scale.

There is a good side to all this. Consider if all were good all the time. You would not be happy. You Need the bad to see the good! Think about it. Frank...

 

[pat-tekker-cat]

Perceptions and perspectives......
just depends on how one chooses to look at it.
It's all good Frankn.

 

[Crispin]

Me personally; I choose to take off the blindfold, cross my fingers, and wait for midnight in The Garden of Good and Evil.

 

[GMD52]

It's the ying and yang in the world. Good and evil exist is all things to keep the universe in balance. And I also agree that it's a matter of perspective, and culture. What we are taught to be evil in our culture, may have a very different meaning in another culture. Perhaps this is why people don't understand each other, and are always judging ?

Good to the priest of the local parish, and evil to the religious zealot, may well be the same thing.

 

[Frankn]

Me personally; I choose to take off the blindfold, cross my fingers, and wait for midnight in The Garden of Good and Evil.

I agree. Sticking your head in the sand doesn't work. You have to face reality. Like those guys in the parking lot holding out the money just might have gotten it from a previous parker. Remember? Frank...

Survival of the fittest, or is it smartest?

 

[Dave44]

Isn't that from " The Prophet"?
Haven't read that in 30 years, and reading it has helped to temper my opinions on most issues.

But there is real evil in the world, and the evil is not tempered by good, nor does it exist because of simple needs or wants. Sometimes we might be able to put a clinical name to a persons evil actions. But that does not make them half good.

 

[Frankn]

Isn't that from " The Prophet"?
Haven't read that in 30 years, and reading it has helped to temper my opinions on most issues.

But there is real evil in the world, and the evil is not tempered by good, nor does it exist because of simple needs or wants. Sometimes we might be able to put a clinical name to a persons evil actions. But that does not make them half good.

I think I am going to have to agree with this theory.
Sample. At a place where I worked once, one of the employees at lunch time break, told a story about himself. He said the neighbors new puppy came on his property and crapped on his lawn. He took it into his shop and shined a laser in it's eyes and blinded it then put it back in his neighbors yard. He seamed quite proud of this act. I kept my eye on him from then on as I had see his true nature. Evil comes from within. I figure there are about 10% truly evil people in the world and of course you have to add the sheep that follow the goat. Frank...

 

[pat-tekker-cat]

Wow, Frankn, that's a terrible thing to do to a puppy! To anyone or anything!
Ya know, it's said, to "love the sinner, hate the sin".
I have to wonder in my mind, what is a persons justification for doing really evil acts. I mean, one could maybe feel sorry for Caligula.
I mean, look at the way he grew up, he may have felt given the times, honest justification for what he did to others, Don't make it right, just saying....... Even that terrible German man felt he was doing good and right for/by HIS ppl, still wasn't right........

And how misguided or in "error" and in need of correcting would/could someone be, who does these types things?
Maybe they had parents that never said, "HEY, DON'T DO THAT!"

 

[Frankn]

Wow, Frankn, that's a terrible thing to do to a puppy! To anyone or anything!
Ya know, it's said, to "love the sinner, hate the sin".
I have to wonder in my mind, what is a persons justification for doing really evil acts. I mean, one could maybe feel sorry for Caligula.
I mean, look at the way he grew up, he may have felt given the times, honest justification for what he did to others, Don't make it right, just saying....... Even that terrible German man felt he was doing good and right for/by HIS ppl, still wasn't right........

And how misguided or in "error" and in need of correcting would/could someone be, who does these types things?
Maybe they had parents that never said, "HEY, DON'T DO THAT!"

The way I look at it is A sin is actually the sinners actions, thus they can't be separated.

Some people are thrill driven Some not bad like the skydiver who faces death each dive. You can see it on there faces. I use to photograph for PCA events in the area. There are the evil thrill seekers that derive pleasure from evil deeds. I don't place a bit of blame on parents. We all make our own bed and lie in it. I have already seen heaven and hell here on earth and technically died after an operation. I know what is to come. Frank...