for or against

“If you want the truth to stand clear before you, never be 'for' or 'against'. The struggle between ‘for’ and ‘against’ is the mind’s worst disease.” - Sent-ts’an, 700 C.E. China

the master

"You may be keeping accounts, and presently you shall walk out of the door
that for so long has seemed to you the barrier of your ideals, and shall
find yourself before an audience, the pen still behind your ear, the ink
stains on your fingers, . and after a time the master shall say, 'I have
nothing more to teach you.' And now you have become the master ..

--Stanton Kirkham Dave

being a cynics

I recently set up a donation box in the main lobby of my dormitory to collect warm winter clothes for a local shelter. Today I saw my roommate donating a bag full of sweaters and shirt. The first think came to my mind was he’s getting rid of his old clothing. This thought was further reinforced with a piece of memory I had from his early Fall shopping spree. But, soon I realized I was labeling his actions as less than a noble act by attaching alternative motives to his maybe “wholly generous action”. Yes, I have become a cynic and I can’t find a way to escape from it! Why do I question people’s motive, and why do I give a higher weight to the less noble one? From a pragmatic point of view what difference it makes what the person’s motive is; all I’m doing is finding a match between a public need and individual’s desire to give away or to donate their belongings. There is no value judgment involved here!