"Cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy - they're given after all. Choices can be hard. You can seduce yourself with your gifts if you're not careful, and if you do, it'll probably be to the detriment of your choices....
Tomorrow, in a very real sense, your life - the life you author from scratch on your own - begins.
How will you use your gifts? What choices will you make?
Will inertia be your guide, or will you follow your passions?
Will you follow dogma, or will you be original?
Will you choose a life of ease, or a life of service and adventure?
Will you wilt under criticism, or will you follow your convictions?
Will you bluff it out when you're wrong, or will you aplogize?
Will you guard your heart against rejection, or will you act when you fall in love?
Will you play it safe, or will you be a little bit swashbuckling? When it's tough, will you give up, or will you be relentless?
Will you be a cynic, or will you be a builder?
Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind?"
Written by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Found on Explore, "a discovery engine for meaningful knowledge, fueled by cross-disciplinary curiosity". Thank you, Maria Popova
Friday, April 06, 2012
clever is easy.
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7 comments:
Great questions I think we all need to ask ourselves. The person who wrote this was very in tune with what we should all explore internally. Love it.
I like this. Especially the first paragraph with these followup questions "How will you use your gifts? What choices will you make?"
Something to ponder. IN the morning, to decide how I will choose the day, and at night, to reflect how I spent the day.
Love it as well. Seems to fit the mood I am in.
P.S. I loved the chapter in Bloom when you visited Kelle at the hospital with your "I have a dream speech." That chapter will be read a few times again. We all need to hear it at different points in our lives.
I admire the sister relationship you two have.
"Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind?"
This x100...
I once read people won't always remember what you did in life, but they will always remember the way you made them feel.
And as for living my life, I am constantly asking myself if I am living less from habit and more from intent... which is where I want to be.
Thanks for sharing this!
Nice post. You might like this Wordsworth quote about little acts of kindness. Carole's Chatter blogspot Acts of Kindness
love it
make a poster
of it
i want one
miss u c
xoxo rosa
Keep checking in...how did the speech competition go? Sure you nailed it.
Jill B (Overland Park, KS)
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