Look round the habitable
world: how few Know their own good, or knowing it, pursue. (John Dryden)
TWO QUESTIONS TEST OUR
CHARACTER AT ITS DEEPEST LEVEL. Marcus Aurelius was not mistaken when he
said, “The true worth of a man is to be measured by the objects he
pursues.” So it’s important at regular intervals to ask ourselves these
two questions: WHAT ARE WE PURSUING? and HOW ARE WE PURSUING IT?
THE “WHAT” OF OUR
PURSUIT. Some things are wrong to pursue, morally and ethically, and
these endeavors can’t be made worthy by any amount of excellence in the
manner or method of their pursuit. Yet even within the realm of what’s
right, we need to be careful about what we try to achieve. The “good” is
often the enemy of the “better” and the “best,” and we ought to care
enough about the quality of our lives to pursue the very best that we
can. Even more important, however, we need to be cautious in the
CRITERIA by which we judge what is good, better, and best. By some
criteria, for example, it would be better to pursue becoming a doctor
than becoming a nurse, but by other (equally valid) criteria, the person
who has become a nurse has pursued a goal no less praiseworthy than that
of the doctor, despite the doctor’s higher social and economic profile.
To be completely accurate, we’d have to say that a person’s true worth
is measured not only by the OBJECTS he pursues but also the REASONS FOR
WHICH HE PURSUES THEM.
THE “HOW” OF OUR PURSUIT.
Even with admirable pursuits, we need to make sure that we pursue them
in a PRINCIPLED way. Contrary to popular belief, the end does NOT
justify the means, and we are never excused from wrongdoing simply
because we had an honorable objective. And not only should the pursuit
of our goals be principled; it should also be PASSIONATE. “The roots of
true achievement lie in the will to become the best that you can become”
(Harold Taylor).
It’s needful, then, for
us to PAY ATTENTION TO OUR PURSUITS. Not many good goals can be reached
by merely “going with the flow.” It takes deliberate, conscious choice
to keep ourselves pointed in the right direction, and in whatever
direction it’s right for us to be pointed, it takes character to fire up
our pursuits with principle and passion.
“Every calling is great
when greatly pursued”
(Oliver Wendell Holmes).
