On 29 Nov 99, at 23:11, Richard Charles Holloway wrote:
> ... First I change myself. And while I do this, I connect myself with
> all the other selves with whom I interact, through listening, reflecting,
> learning, understanding and sharing. And then we change us together.
I seek the permission of the reader to be a little sarcastic about this
statement. I also appeal to the magnanimity of the author. But I think
there might be some value in what I will now write.
Interestingly, the statement appears to have the magical quality of
Delphic prophecies. It seems to have authority behind it (e.g., Gandhi
said it). It seems to uphold some generally held beliefs (e.g., one should
not meddle in others' affairs). It seems to be ambiguous and paradoxical
(e.g., trying to change others is bad; also trying to change others is
good provided you are changing yourself first). It is not testable (one
cannot say, 'Look, Gandhi changed himself, which brought political freedom
to India, and India is such a nice place today.')
Therefore, it might be predicted that the statement would have a large
following. Consequently, statements which make counter claims will have to
struggle very hard to be listened to.
Love.
DP
----------------
Prof. D. P. Dash
Xavier Institute of Management
Bhubaneswar 751013
India
New E-Mail: dpdash@ximb.ac.in
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