Hi all Here's a quote I came across recently and it had a profound impact on me... "Integrity means doing the right thing - even if nobody is watching" - do your "play" the honest and sincere martial artist in public only to fail miserably in private? I fail in public too - but at least I'm working on it LOL!
It's a fundamental question I suppose Yoda. Put another way..... Say less than you are! Be more than you say! Andy:love:
A question that can only truly be answered by everyone individually YODA I fail to live up to my own expectations on a daily basis, but then I set my standards fairly high. It's not about acheiving perfection, it's about striving towards it. For me anyway! Andy
Hm. I think I do OK on this one (though it may sound immodest to say so My number one priority in life is honesty ... to be as honest as possible with everyone ... ESPECIALLY MYSELF. I'm far from perfect ... but I'll be the first to tell anyone that. I do feel that I am honest and sincere both publicly and privately ... and I think anyone who knows me well would agree. I went to a private seminar carrying a box of Krispy Kreme donuts. A close friend (for all intents and purposes, my brother) looked at his instructor and said, "See, two things Mikey takes seriously: his training and his donuts." Mike
Good stuff guys. Andy - right on! It's better to try & fail than to fail to try Mike - I'm with you on the donuts
"Integrity means doing the right thing - even if nobody is watching" ---------------------------- Excellent quote, Yoda! There was a man once who used to walk around with a lit up lamp or lantern during the day. When asked why he replied: "I am searching for an honest man." I believe the man's name was Diogynes (or something like that) and he was a Greek philosopher. I also believe that this has not changed even unto this day. "As honest as possible." indeed Pesilat!!! You are HONEST or you are NOT!!! ) Regards, alienladd ~!~
LOL ... "as possible" is a nod to the fact that I'm human and fallible. I try to always be honest ... but the best laid plans ... It's generally pretty easy to be honest with others. But we are all prone to self-delusions and rationalizations. No matter how hard we try to avoid them, they still happen on occasion if we let our guard down. Mike
Of course, Pesilat. I know exactly what you meant, hence the big grin at the end of my quote. The thing is I hear this statement so often from people around me and yet one has to be on one's guard all the time. ... Indulge in the luxury of trust ... and you invariably get the short end of the stick. Funnily enough, I find it easier to be honest with myself (ok, ok, ... I will admit I sometimes try to delude myself and try to find excuses for my shortcomings) but still even then I KNOW the truth and WILL acknowledge it as without that there is no way to improvement. With strangers I find it sometimes a little strained to be straight forward honest, good and clean and fresh type of honest,... sometimes of course I find it best not to respond to some of their statements or actions as my response would more than likely lead to aggressive responseson their part. So in a way people often 'force' one to be a little 'deceitful' I am SO getting carried away here!!! One last thing .... what does 'LOL' stand for. I'm not so eloquent in computer 'hieroglyphics' Regards, alienladd ~!~
LOL= Lots of Laughs ROFL= rolls on the floor laughing BTW= By the way BRB= Be right back NP= No problem CWAH= Cooler was a hippy KIFP= Karate is for pansy's The last two seem somewhat inflammatory to me, but Melanie assures me that they are accepted net terminology world wide. HONEST Andy
Huh. Never seen "Lots of Laughs" ... I've always used it for "Laughing Out Loud" And don't forget: ROFLMAO = Rolling on Floor Laughing My A$$ Off Later, Mike
Yeah, that's what I figured ... just wanted to clarify ... just in case ;-) Yes, that does happen. But I'm a believer in the concept of karma. I'm very trusting ... but also realistic in my expectations. If I get stabbed in the back then I know not to trust that person any more ... or at least in that area. But I find that my trust is rewarded far more often than it is spurned. For that I use two old rules: "if I have nothing nice to say I say nothing at all" and "if you don't want the answer don't ask the question." So, if I'm not saying anything and someone asks my opinion, then they need to be prepared to hear my honest opinion. This has gotten me in hot water on occasion ... but generally people respect me for it and when they do ask for my opinion they are prepared for honesty ... even if they don't like it they respect it because it's honest. I was attending a seminar once where there was a potential for some political BS to crop up. My instructor's wife was kind of worried about me going. My instructor told her, "If it comes up, Mike'll avoid it. If they stick it in his face, they'll probably regret it." There was some political BS ... but I ignored it and didn't let it get to me. I just did my work and let it speak for itself. Once, I attended a Ninjutsu class and they did knife work. Knife work isn't my personal forte ... but it is the forte of the Filipino martial arts ... and, as such, I've got pretty respectable knife skills. I went through the class and did everything as they taught it and didn't say a word. After the class, the instructor (who is a great guy and very open-minded) asked me what I thought. I said, "Well, it's decent ... not how I'd do it, but decent." He asked how I would do it. I showed him some of the FMA knife work and he grinned, a little wide-eyed, and said, "Ah. I see why you wouldn't do it our way." Mike
You call THAT a list? THIS is a list AAMOF = As A Matter Of Fact AFAIK = As Far As I Know AWGTHTGTTA = Are We Going To Have To Go Through This Again? Alternative form is AWGTHTGTATA (...Through ALL This Again?) BBFN = Bye Bye For Now BIOYIOP = Blow It Out Your Input Output Port BRB = Be Right Back (generally used on chat systems) BTA = But Then Again BTW = By The Way BYKT = But You Knew That BYKTA = But You Knew That Already CMIIW = Correct Me If I'm Wrong CYL = See You Later DNPM = Darn Near P***ed Myself EOD = End Of Discussion EOL = End Of Lecture ESOSL = Endless Snorts of Stupid Laughter FDROTFL = Falling Down Rolling On The Floor Laughing FITB = Fill In The Blank.... FOTCL = Falling Off The Chair Laughing FWIW = For What It's Worth FYI = For Your Information GD&R = Grin, Duck & Run GOK = God Only Knows IAC = In Any Case IMCDO = In My Conceited Dogmatic Opinion. IMHO = In My Humble Opinion IMNSHO = In My Not So Humble Opinion IOW = In Other Words IITYWYBMAB = If I Tell You, Will You Buy Me A Beer IITYWYBAD = If I Tell You, Will You Buy Another Drink INPO = In No Particular Order KCBIWIYWI = Keep Coming Back, It Works If You Work It LLTA = Lots and Lots of Thunderous (or Thundering) Applause LOL = Laughing out loud LMAO = Laughing My A** Off MUNG = Mash Until No Good NICBDAT = Nothing Is Certain But Death And Taxes NIMBY = Not In My Backyard NIMTO = Not In My Term of Office NPLU = Not People Like Us NQOS = Not Quite Our Sort OIC = OH!, I See OTOH = On The Other Hand PGY = Post Graduate year PGY-1, PGY-2 etc. used in PGY Med. PMETC = Pardon Me Etc. PMYMHMMFSWGAD = Pardon Me, You Must Have Mistaken Me For Someone Who Gives A Damn. PTO=Patent and Trademark Office (US Govt) ROFL = Rolling On Floor Laughing ROFLAHMSL = Rolling On Floor Laughing And Holding My Sides Laughing ROTBA = Reality On The Blink Again ROTFL = Rolling On The Floor Laughing ROFLASTC (or ROFLASC) = Rolling On The Floor Laughing And Scaring The Cat. Originated, I'm told by Pamela Dean, who types with a cat on her lap. ROTFLMAAOBPO = Rolling On The Floor Laughing My A** And Other Body Parts Off ROY G. BIV = An acronym for the colors of the spectrum-- Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet RSN = Real Soon Now RTFM = Read The F**** Manual SWAG = Simple Wild A** Guess SYT = Sweet Young Thing TANJ = There Ain't No Justice TANSTAAFL = There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch TIC = Tongue In Cheek TINALO = This Is Not A Legal Opinion TINAR = This Is Not A Recommendation TIWTGLGG = This Is Where The Goofy Little Grin Goes TJATAW = Truth, Justice, And The American Way TLA = Three Letter Acronym TRDMC = Tears Running Down My Cheeks TTBOMK = To The Best Of My Knowledge TTFN = Ta Ta For Now TTYL = Talk To You Later TYVM = Thank You Very Much WAMKSAM = Why Are My Kids (or Kitties) Staring At Me? WIBAMU = Well I'll be a Monkey's Uncle WYSBYGI = What You See Before You Get It WYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get YAP = Yet Another Ploy YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary
Yeah but that's old Yoda. what about..... YMWAHAYFSOE- Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberiies! GTAFFTARD- Go take a flying **** through a rolling donut! DYGOM?- Do you get out much? WYATU?- Where you always this unpopular? ITTTIMBO- Is that the time, I must be off. IMBLYK- I met Bruce Lee you know. YBS- Your breath stinks. YSS- Your spelling stinks. I have been sticking these at the bottom of posts for ages, and no one ever questions me. I think they are too afraid to admit they don't know what they mean! Andy
All depends on how you define "the right thing", Since philosophers have been arguing about that since philosophers began to exist. ( ) it doesn't mean much when you work through it. Lets see... It's not ok to put cats in the microwave becuase other people find it disturbing. If there is no one around to find it disturbing its ok. Of course then you are still doing the "right thing" as you believe it to be, and therefore have integrity. or... The right thing is to put cats in the microwave, regardless of what others think. or how about.... To do the right thing is to do that which bring you the most pleasure. If putting cats in the microwave brings you pleasure, then that is the right thing. Now just for the record: I have never put a cat in the microwave. Anyway, defining integrity as doing the right thing - fine, define "doing the right thing" - not so easy. Another quote "It's only a crime if you get caught" .... Ok, I'll take my meds now...
Andy...the Canadian version of the Royal Society of Prevention Cruelty to Animals has asked that you stay where you are...you're surrounded. Take it like the man you are Andy...on your knees and beg for forgiveness... You knew you had to take the meds more than once a day...
