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Greatnorthdotcom.com
"A moral virtue is always a mean between two less desirable extremes. Courage, for example, is a mean between cowardice and thoughtless rashness; Generosity, between extravagance and parsimony." Aristotle
On Fear, Isolation, and Routine Fear is responsible for all sorts of atrocities; missed opportunities, hurtful pointed words, boredom, anger, and most notably mass murder and war, otherwise known as hate. Fear binds us to exchange possibility for what is safe. Fear wants to know the outcome before taking the leap. Fear needs structure and shapes and boxes to define.....mostly fear needs itself....a dead president once said. Fear teaches us to value silence, to stay quiet and secure, to accept what we never decided. Isolation is "to set apart from others; quarantine... so as to obtain a pure state" according to Webster's. Isolation keeps us from learning about each other and gaining insight from perspectives outside our own. Routine, like isolation and fear, suffers from a desire to regulate, impose order and safety. Routine is subtle and dangerous. It is subtle in that its elements seem somehow small and insignificant. It is dangerous in how those subtle rhythms lull us to sleep, to close our eyes, to live and move without passion, to take experience for granted, and to deny discovery. We wake up, brush our teeth, shower, drink coffee, read the paper, etc. etc. etc. Small routines, but fertile training ground to find comfort in repetition. Routine lends itself to efficiency, so we can concentrate on the greater goals, getting home faster and increased productivity...It is this efficiency that locks us into predetermined perspectives and removes the poetry and spontaneity of our everyday living. And it remains to be seen whether "increased productivity" is even a worthwhile goal. Creativity is the active confrontation of fear, isolation, and routine. It involves either decisions without an agenda or an agenda that is flexible to accommodate the possibility of possibilities. Stella
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