The selection of books I read can sometimes be quite random. I'm attracted by a cover or a title, or , sometimes, a bargain. For all the time I spend using computers and the internet to communicate and research I also seem to be reading more than I ever have. I have a new love for the public library and the trestle tables heaped with remaindered books at the local outlet store. It is from these apparently opposite sources that two books have provided me with some interesting reinforcement of my faith in The One & Only™ Concept.
From The Meaning of ThingsApplying Philosophy to Life by AC Grayling I found the following in the introduction:
"Socrates said that an unconsidered life is not worth living. He meant that a life lived without forethought or principle is a life left vulnerable to chance and dependant on the choices and actions of others (so of little real value to the person living it). He goes further, that a life lived well is one that has goals and integrity, a life chosen and directed by the one who lives it, to the fullest extent possible."
And from the library to the clearance tables:
A Quaker Book of Wisdom by Robert Lawrence Smith:
"Shakespeare wrote 'Conscience doth make cowards of us all.' I think what he meant is that listening to and acting on our conscience is a scary and lonely experience. We fear our conscience for the same reasons we fear the truth. We know our conscience can expose us to ridicule and take away the props that make us feel secure - a group identity, conformity, anonymity. I would argue that letting your life speak through your conscience in the same way that truth telling is. It frees you from the the jusgement of others because you are answerable only to the God that is in you."
I wonder, sometimes, whether the journey of writing my book is worth it when I keep finding tracks that suggest others have trodden the path before me, though usually the tracks cross my path rather than head to the same waterhole. But it would be arrogant of me think that this is virgin turf. It has been the province of creative people, thinkers and artists since time began. My main aim is to bring a humanistic perspective back to marketing and to brands. I don't think it is right, necessarily, for everyone - but it is, at least, plausible.
The strands I am pulling together might well be basic human truths which have been forgotten in the drive to make marketing credible and 'scientific'.
If I can encourage a few people to 'follow their bliss'' and embark on a life's work - with no guarantee of success, but with a promise that a life lived honestly and a self expressed without manipulating others or cynicism is far more rewarding that creating mindless, cookie cutter experiences based on conformity, habit and worst of all, greed then I will have succeeded..
I recommend both books. You can order them from Amazon
The Meaning of Things by A.C.Grayling
A Quaker Book of Wisdom by Robert Lawrence Smith
BY THE WAY
I know you were probably wondering what Quaker humour is like. Seems Quaker's, like Buddhists have a sense of humour. How funny is it? 'Bout as funny as the Joey show.
Quaker Humour - some in side splitting Danish
The Joey Show - some in side splitting English
From The Meaning of ThingsApplying Philosophy to Life by AC Grayling I found the following in the introduction:
"Socrates said that an unconsidered life is not worth living. He meant that a life lived without forethought or principle is a life left vulnerable to chance and dependant on the choices and actions of others (so of little real value to the person living it). He goes further, that a life lived well is one that has goals and integrity, a life chosen and directed by the one who lives it, to the fullest extent possible."
And from the library to the clearance tables:
A Quaker Book of Wisdom by Robert Lawrence Smith:
"Shakespeare wrote 'Conscience doth make cowards of us all.' I think what he meant is that listening to and acting on our conscience is a scary and lonely experience. We fear our conscience for the same reasons we fear the truth. We know our conscience can expose us to ridicule and take away the props that make us feel secure - a group identity, conformity, anonymity. I would argue that letting your life speak through your conscience in the same way that truth telling is. It frees you from the the jusgement of others because you are answerable only to the God that is in you."
I wonder, sometimes, whether the journey of writing my book is worth it when I keep finding tracks that suggest others have trodden the path before me, though usually the tracks cross my path rather than head to the same waterhole. But it would be arrogant of me think that this is virgin turf. It has been the province of creative people, thinkers and artists since time began. My main aim is to bring a humanistic perspective back to marketing and to brands. I don't think it is right, necessarily, for everyone - but it is, at least, plausible.
The strands I am pulling together might well be basic human truths which have been forgotten in the drive to make marketing credible and 'scientific'.
If I can encourage a few people to 'follow their bliss'' and embark on a life's work - with no guarantee of success, but with a promise that a life lived honestly and a self expressed without manipulating others or cynicism is far more rewarding that creating mindless, cookie cutter experiences based on conformity, habit and worst of all, greed then I will have succeeded..
I recommend both books. You can order them from Amazon
The Meaning of Things by A.C.Grayling
A Quaker Book of Wisdom by Robert Lawrence Smith
BY THE WAY
I know you were probably wondering what Quaker humour is like. Seems Quaker's, like Buddhists have a sense of humour. How funny is it? 'Bout as funny as the Joey show.
Quaker Humour - some in side splitting Danish
The Joey Show - some in side splitting English
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