casda

1.鸽子不再象征和平，
  我终于被提醒广场上喂食的是秃鹰，

  鸽子只是弱小的一方，和平是弱小者的希望
  我终于知道鸽子只是秃鹰的食物，给予弱小者希望的也是秃鹰

2.We're goal-driven creatures, so we're often tempted to focus on the future as some sort of reward for the present.  I think, in this regard, we can take a lesson from the end of the rainbow -- the "end result reward" is an illusion.  There is no true end, not in the sense we want to believe.  There's no perfection, no absolute completion, no "game over, baby, I beat life; can't wait 'til they come out with the sequel!"

3.Quite the opposite: My point is that we should strive to avoid complacency in our approach toward life in general.  During times of prosperity, it's easy to fall into patterns which are based on assumptions of a future which may never materialize.  We put off phone calls, visits, and time with loved ones based on such assumptions.  We prefer not to consider that by the time the future becomes the present,it may no longer be in a form that's even recognizable to us today. 

4.So how do we work toward our goals without becoming obsessed with the future and with end results?  These are questions which have challenged philosophers since the beginning of time, and I certainly don't have all the answers.  I can't promise my solutions are the best or only solutions, but I can say I've found they work when I can remain consistent in them. 

My solution starts with the knowledge that the future isn't guaranteed, only the present is guaranteed.  Since I know this to be true, I am thus able to determine that ideals which place the future ahead of the present, such as "the end justifies the means," are completely backwards.

What I believe is: The means justify the end. 

In other words, if you do your best, live your life with as much honor and integrity as you possibly can, treat others as well as you can, and still fail in the end -- then that's okay. You have done what you were put here to do. The "end results" are out of your control, and in essence, none of your business.  

5.We must thus take right action for its own sake, not for the end result, or we have no guiding principle and will quickly become lost in situational ethics.   

6.If fate steps in later and unexpectedly rips your life apart and leaves you exposed and naked with nowhere to turn, at the end of it all, you will actually still have everything you started with -- the only thing that's truly yours in this world: your own self-respect.  It will survive because you'll have very few regrets regarding your own actions.  To the contrary, you will find your past to be a source of strength.