Essay-a-Week Challenge - Week 12
"July 22nd: Words to live up to"
There are words to live by – quotations which we try to embody in day to day life. Then there are words to live up to – the principles which we try to uphold, but which we often fall short of. Pick one of those quotations which you aspire towards. Why do you feel you fall short of its aim? Why is it worth living up to?
Topics from, A Bookful Blockhead.
Beethoven on my blog is like the four note motif in his Fifth Symphony - he just keeps coming back. A quick search of my blog (Google to the left! i.e. sidebar, top) shows ten posts mentioning him (though now it'll be eleven), including four (now five) of the essay-a-week essays. I will post a word cloud when I get to the end of the summer...
There is much in the composer to aspire towards, but I really don't see the need for a second extensive post detailing how awesome Beethoven is. Great compositions aside, below is a quote by Beethoven that defines the principles I try to uphold:
First, we must do what is right. In my opinion, things that are right are things that improve our lives and the lives of others. If we stay on track with good intentions, people will build closer and stronger communities, and we will be happier overall. Of course, the phrase is easier said than done - doing the "right" thing is often cloudy and our imperfect judgement makes it difficult to choose the better deed, while bad deeds are often tempting. Nevertheless, I try to live up to this phrase by doing things with good intentions, a judgement that improves as I learn from my mistakes. After all, we're reminded at the end of the quote to never stop learning, and as time goes on, it will be easier to know what is right. To do the right thing, however, takes another leap.
With good intentions, the next step is to "strive with all our might towards the unattainable". Throughout Beethoven's repertoire, he explores new instruments and arrangements; each successive piece seems to command greater emotion and energy. His final frontier was music, and he pushed through with his ninth and final symphony. The same applies to us: we each have interests that we are pursuing, and in order to collectively move our respective fields forward, we owe it to our studies to do as much as we can. I don't think I've done very well with this in the last few years - it's so easy to take comfort in the status quo. It takes a lot of effort to set your goals just beyond your reach so that you're always reaching, but in order to truly make a difference in a world (which seems unattainable as well), one must actually set the goal of doing so. [In other words, acceptable is nowhere near good enough - one needs to be exceeding expectations, if not outstanding.]
The next piece of the puzzle tells us to use our natural talents. Everyone has something unique to contribute to a group - there are few things more saddening than seeing great talent go to waste. Plus, if you're doing something that you're naturally skilled at, you feel less stressed and can find a job that makes more out of what you enjoy - everyone benefits. It's just good economics.
Lastly, never stop learning. The world is a fascinating place - I think it's actually much more difficult to stop learning, so why work against it? Just go with the flow and be receptive to new ideas and pick up new skills on a daily basis. I actually find this one the easiest of them all, and it will help you to recognize what is right, find more ways to achieve your dreams, and further develop your God-given gifts.
Arguably, this quote may be too ideal and unattainable on its own front (meta!), but that's what makes these words so worthy of great aspiration (and inspiration). Trying to reach these words by Beethoven is the story of my life. And his ninth symphony is the soundtrack.
You could read my post below, or you could just read the quote, take it in, and move on with your life. That's really just the highlight of this all.
There is much in the composer to aspire towards, but I really don't see the need for a second extensive post detailing how awesome Beethoven is. Great compositions aside, below is a quote by Beethoven that defines the principles I try to uphold:
"Then let us all do what is right,Why are these words worth living up to? Well, seeing that the quote is essentially combining a lot of commonly agreed on ideals, it's hard to say that these words are not worth living up to. Declaring that we should all "do what is wrong, ignore what is unattainable, repress as fully as we can the gifts God has given us, and stop learning" wouldn't be a very positive notion. Simply put, these words tell us to always do our best, and to become the best that we can be. It's a big task, so Beethoven gives us four key tips for getting there.
strive with all our might toward the unattainable,
develop as fully as we can the gifts God has given us,
and never stop learning."
First, we must do what is right. In my opinion, things that are right are things that improve our lives and the lives of others. If we stay on track with good intentions, people will build closer and stronger communities, and we will be happier overall. Of course, the phrase is easier said than done - doing the "right" thing is often cloudy and our imperfect judgement makes it difficult to choose the better deed, while bad deeds are often tempting. Nevertheless, I try to live up to this phrase by doing things with good intentions, a judgement that improves as I learn from my mistakes. After all, we're reminded at the end of the quote to never stop learning, and as time goes on, it will be easier to know what is right. To do the right thing, however, takes another leap.
With good intentions, the next step is to "strive with all our might towards the unattainable". Throughout Beethoven's repertoire, he explores new instruments and arrangements; each successive piece seems to command greater emotion and energy. His final frontier was music, and he pushed through with his ninth and final symphony. The same applies to us: we each have interests that we are pursuing, and in order to collectively move our respective fields forward, we owe it to our studies to do as much as we can. I don't think I've done very well with this in the last few years - it's so easy to take comfort in the status quo. It takes a lot of effort to set your goals just beyond your reach so that you're always reaching, but in order to truly make a difference in a world (which seems unattainable as well), one must actually set the goal of doing so. [In other words, acceptable is nowhere near good enough - one needs to be exceeding expectations, if not outstanding.]
The next piece of the puzzle tells us to use our natural talents. Everyone has something unique to contribute to a group - there are few things more saddening than seeing great talent go to waste. Plus, if you're doing something that you're naturally skilled at, you feel less stressed and can find a job that makes more out of what you enjoy - everyone benefits. It's just good economics.
Lastly, never stop learning. The world is a fascinating place - I think it's actually much more difficult to stop learning, so why work against it? Just go with the flow and be receptive to new ideas and pick up new skills on a daily basis. I actually find this one the easiest of them all, and it will help you to recognize what is right, find more ways to achieve your dreams, and further develop your God-given gifts.
Arguably, this quote may be too ideal and unattainable on its own front (meta!), but that's what makes these words so worthy of great aspiration (and inspiration). Trying to reach these words by Beethoven is the story of my life. And his ninth symphony is the soundtrack.
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