Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Don't tiptoe


All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life just to arrive at death safely.





But dear children, Do not tiptoe.
Run,
Hop,
Skip,
or dance,

Just don't tiptoe

-Anonymous 

2 comments:

Harrison Mooney said...

Quotes like this drive me insane, because it sounds great, but it doesn't mean ANYTHING.

What is the practical application of such an axiom? So we are to run, skip, or hop through life rather than tiptoeing, but how does one do that? If the answer is to live life to the fullest, what does that even mean? General irresponsibility? If being cautious in life is a bad thing, is being reckless it's goodly antithesis?

Come now. I don't think there's a single person in this world who doesn't want a better life. But to think that anybody's life could be improved by this sort of inspirational schlock--best left to bookmarks, so at least they serve some sort of purpose and they're covered up by words that MEAN SOMETHING--is to find oneself totally hoodwinked.

Rather than offering up the advice that life is a wave so we should ride it, or we should live every day like we were dying, or live every moment like it was your last, or live every second to the fullest, why don't we try something that has application, and recommend trying to find purpose for your life? Because, frankly, a life with purpose is the only true life of movement... movement without purpose is wandering. Frankly, too many people wander through life skipping, hopping, dancing, twirling, and spinning, only to discover, in the end, it was just fancy wandering.

Welcome to blogging!

Harrison Mooney said...

This comment is in response to the comment Greg left on my own blog moments ago, not this blog's content, nor my own comment, above.


My response is both short and meek. You're quite right, Greg. If a quote such as this inspire one to seize opportunities rather than passing them by and accepting the status quo, more power. It has been my experience that this quote is more often uttered by selfish and self-centered people who would rather live a life of personal pleasure than a life that positively affects others. I hope I don't have to strive to prove quotes such as this one, or "Seize the Day", etc. are more often uttered by the Tommy Lees and the Pete Dohertys than, well, wise and respectable people. I will admit there is an upside to such quotes, I just cringe because I associate them more with a lifestyle of short returns. There is definitely a virtue in seizing moments, but I think that prayerful consideration and caution are overlooked elements of human action. That said, you covered that nicely--tiptoeing is avoiding the advice of others, especially because the act of tiptoeing is generally done alone, whereas the act of dancing is generally done communally. I'll relent the point, provided you and others like you make sure never to