For days Ive been reflecting on this brief passage of Leopardis that I encountered at random, where to paraphrase, he claims that intelligent men are governed by facts but extraordinary men are governed by illusions. So I got to thinking about just how much of our most significant striving is rooted in illusion -- we have to believe things like, I can have a positive impact on people, or my career matters, or I can DO THIS, whatever it is, or that we can change awful things in the world, solve or ameliorate social problems that seem insoluble, and we believe those things often in direct defiance of the apparent facts of life. These beliefs seem ridiculous at times, especially at the outset of some new thing, when you frequently wonder, why am I even doing this? But you believe in it because you really want to -- no better reason -- and then if you work diligently, and are careful about who you recruit to your side, the illusion you started out with somehow becomes a fact along the way. And then youre responsible for what youve created. In dreams begin responsibilities -- well, thats a different poet. But you see the connection.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 06:23:20 +0000
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