In 2013, we enter our third year of The Vitruvian Man Blog (tVM blog). Our intention remains the same…
”To create a better world with better people.”
Yet war still rages, children are still hungry and creatures – humans and others – are still abused. We continue to rape our own planet and destroy our own hospitable environment, too often for the sake of greed and power.
If this blog has made an impact, it barely registers, but we will continue one starfish at a time. If one person is better for reading one word in this blog, then the world is a better place.
One starfish at a time…
I have been told, “You can’t change the world.” I disagree. I can change the world, and you can change the world. You can make it better; you can make it worse. The choice belongs to each of us.
I recently read Anthony de Mello’s book The Song of the Bird. I would like to launch our third year by sharing a short chapter from the late Father de Mello’s 1981 book in which he recounts an Arab fable from the mystic Sa’di. As Sa’di tells the story,
A man was walking through the forest and came upon a fox that had lost its legs. As the man pondered how the disabled animal could possibly survive, a tiger came along with meat in his mouth. The tiger sat down and had his fill. He left the rest for the fox with no legs.
The next day, God fed the fox by means of the same tiger. The man was amazed at God’s greatness and said to himself, “I too shall rest in a corner with full trust in the Lord and he will provide me with all I need.”
The man did this for many days, but nothing happened. As the starving man approached death’s door, he heard a voice say, “O you foolish man! Open your eyes to the truth! Follow the example of the tiger and stop imitating the disabled fox.”
Father de Mello concludes this brief chapter with his own short recollection:
On the street I saw a naked child, hungry and shivering in the cold. I became angry and said to God, ‘Why do you permit this? Why don’t you do something?’ For a while God said nothing. That night God replied, quite suddenly, ‘I certainly did something. I made you.’
As we journey through 2013, let each of us take the example from the tiger.
DO SOMETHING!
Be a Vitruvian Man, Be a Noble Person!
We applaud your quest for Kalos Kagathos.
Please visit "E.S. Kraay - Online" to explore the historical novels of E.S. Kraay, tVM
Samuel L. Clemens (bka Mark Twain) said:
Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
I would add: Is your responsibility inherit it to your descendants in the best shape possible.
As our parish priest reminds us with every bulletin, “Without God, we cannot; without us, God will not…” St. Augustine
Thanks for your continued support, Paul.
This post is ever so important to those of us raising young children. Nobility must be taught and exemplified from day one. Not a simple task, but a necessary one.
tVM truly appreciates your interest and support.
Gene:
BRAVO! You hit the point: everybody is able to change the world, from any point he/she is in this right moment. Small or large, any contribution to the change should be welcomed, even if goes wrong, because it will teach you the rigth experience to avoid your wrong election.
Join me, Arturo and spread the word in Chile! Good to hear from you.
Whoever told you that you can’t change the world is an idiot. Can you single handedly stop all pollution tomorrow? Unlikely. But you can still change the world. Becuase changing the world doesnt have to mean a big thing or a small thing necessarily, it’s just making some change. You can kick a dog and make a little change for the worse, or you can give money to a homeless person and make a little change for the better. Up to you. But either way, like you said, you can change the world for the better or worse every. Single. Day.
BRAVO, TB. The world needs more people like you who are ready to step up and be counted.