How we measure "success"steemCreated with Sketch.

DavidwOrrQuote.jpg
[image source] (except I replaced their paraphrased quote with the real one)

The quote on the above image is a portion of a quote by David W. Orr in his book: Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect (published by Island Press; Second Edition, 2004):

The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs more people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these qualities have little do with success as our culture has defined it.

Sadly, the metrics of "economic gain" or "power" have come to signify "success" in many of the cultures around the globe, and such isn't merely a phenomenon of the so-called "Western World." Those who collect the most money from others, or conquer the most other nations, or publish the most books, or run the biggest churches are all counted as "successful" people. It does not seem to matter how they managed to attain those goals or whether they're helping others along the way, just that they accomplished those things.

There are relatively few Florence Nightingales who are honored for their sacrifices and work — instead, we glorify the Julius Caesars, the J.P. Morgans, the Kardashians, and the Mark Zuckerbergs. What sort of trouble is that causing us who are alive today, what sort of lessons are we teaching our children, and what sort of legacies are we leaving our grandchildren?

And, oddly...

We need more personal accountability in this world. 😠

  • The first image in this post was found on Pinterest, where the person who pinned it gave no credit to where they found it or the person who created the image.
  • The person who created the image did not cite the source of the quote, giving no credit to the person who said the wise thing.
  • So, I turned to the Internet and did a search for the source of the quote so I could give proper credit. Many clueless people had attributed the quote to the Dalai Lama or others. 🙄 So, I deepened my search, and within the hour I had found the true source of the quote, including the online-book to back up my findings. I changed the image to give proper credit to David W. Orr. In an ideal world, no one should ever have to go searching for the source of a quote, nor question whether the sourcing cited is correct. So, yes, we need more personal accountability in the world, too, rather than clueless people who spout erroneous/vague information and cloud the issues.

    Since I could not find the person who generated the image shown at the top of this post, I have placed the quote on a photograph of a leaf which I took. Feel free to snag the following image and use it anywhere you like as I am hereby placing it in the Public Domain, meaning you are free to use it anywhere without even citing me as the source.

    DavidwOrr.jpg

     😊


    04-Aug-2019

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    pixresteemer_incognito_angel_mini.png
    Congratz, your post has been resteemed and, who knows, will maybe appear in the next edition of the #dailyspotlights (Click on my face if you want to know more about me...)
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    To make a change.. We need to Be the change 😊 I really loved this, and you always write in such a Great way.
    Also research so much and I always learn new things from your posts.
    Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful evening. Cheers! 🤗💞🌹

    I attended once a college graduation ceremony where the guest speaker (whose name I unfortunately forget - this was many years ago) offered up a simple test for any person to gauge their own "success," with the test being, simply, "write your own obituary."

    We need more people willing to see the bigger picture and "pay it forward," so to speak.

    Mmmmmmm indeed!
    I can see why @artemisnorth just sat here thinking after reading this. Thank you for sharing such a thoughtful post on #pypt!!

    Good for me to consider these things for now :)

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    This post made me sit and think for a bit. I loved both of your messages... sadly I think personal accountability is being lost in the quest for more dollars. Success on the other hand really isn't about money.

    I know people with lots of money who work so many hours they have no time left for experiencing life. As well, I know people who have very little money who spend it adventuring through life. Can we find a happy medium and call it Success? I hope so.

    !SHADE 2
    Thanks for sharing on Pimp Your Post Thursday

    That accountability thing been popping up quite a bit lately. Glad you found the true source!

    The change has to begin with one's self. Great article, @thekittygirl! Thank you. Have a lovely week!

    We need more personal accountability in this world, we really do even here in the platform



    Hi thekittygirl the SHADE tokens are on the way.
    Thanks for sharing SHADE
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