|
|
|
|
|||||||
Purpose and Endeavour“A man who is tenacious of purpose in a rightful cause is not shaken from his firm resolve by the ..... |
|
#1
09-04-2011
|
|||
|
|||
Purpose and Endeavour
“A man who is tenacious of purpose in a rightful cause is not shaken from his firm resolve by the frenzy of his fellow citizens clamoring for what is wrong, or by the tyrant’s threatening countenance.” At times, we encounter men and women who seem driven by something outside of themselves, whose commitment to their profession or volunteer activities, their community, or their cause seems to rise above the necessary, above the possible, above even the human. Indeed, we say that in such people we see “the divine spark” Many religious traditions, Eastern and Western, subscribe to the idea that there is something of God’s presence in each of us. Even for the growing number of people who describe themselves as spiritual, but not necessarily religious, there is a certain attachment to this concept of the divine spark. It is the sense that our lives can be guided from within by something more important than our simple survival, something not merely intellectual either, something in our souls. Of course, purpose in any aim is not necessarily admirable. There are those, for instance, whose purpose is at best selfish and at worst evil. Purpose in human beings, in other words, is not measured merely by strength of the will, but also by nobility of the goal. It is beyond our power to gaze into the souls of our fellow human beings to measure either the strength or the nobility of their purpose. Our only hope for understanding, let alone spreading, this inner fire that contributes so greatly to civilization as we know it, is to study the external evidence of purpose. However, we can describe the deeds these purpose-driven men and women have performed, the works they have produced, the look in their eyes when they are working, the joy they bring to those around them, the needs they have met in their communities and their countries, and the various factors that helped them to discover this drive. Finding evidence of purpose in our fellow human beings can help us to see the benefits of purpose, understand its origins and, perhaps, even broaden its reach. Though we might normally think of the battlefield as the place where people perform selfless heroic acts for each other and those back home, there are groups of civilians whose bond is just as strong and whose lives are just as driven by their cause. How do we recognize purpose in groups of people? The chemistry in a certain group or organization is evident in the miracles they seem to achieve. We have today witnessed one such non-violent agitation by a man who seemed to be sustained by such a “divine spark” in him. We must now try and translate this on an organizational level as well to see how human beings working together, each with an overwhelming inner drive, can accomplish greater things. |
Linear Mode
