When I came across this paradoxical quote, it took me by surprise. When I read it again, I felt though we may never think that a positive value may have a price in negative terms, there are instances when you can actually connect this quote by Pablo Picasso to real life situations.
What is created to serve, or protect can be used to destroy. Arms and guns in the hands of soldiers are for killing the enemy, protecting the nation. The same arms and guns in the hands of terrorists kill innocent people. We are prescribed medicines when we fall ill, but a lot of medicines have side effects! While fire can be used for cooking, it can also burn a house down. Take food for instance, there is so much of delicious food around us, made so creatively that's delightful to see and taste. When food is consumed mindfully, it nourishes the body and gives us energy. If food is constantly consumed to offer comfort during stress or if you overeat or make unhealthy food choices, food can make the body ill with disease and the doctor tells you to stay away from those foods you once devoured. People in power can use their power to accomplish great things, inspire people and bring out the best in or misuse their power and cause suffering. Maybe there were times when you trusted and you were betrayed or let down by someone you believed in. When you did good, or meant well, put in some great effort, or great faith, you went out of your way to accomplish something, but something negative happened or you got a negative response, or lead to unimaginable chaos, and you wonder why, what went wrong, why did it go wrong.
Personally, I don't believe this goes for every positive value. Not everything of positive value has a price in negative terms. In life, things can go right and things can go wrong no matter how good your intent or initiative is. Life has it's seasons. It's important to realize that we have control over ourselves, our thoughts, our choices but there is a limit to how much we can control people, events, outcomes, reactions from others, within our sphere of influence. Through every experience, we learn about life, about ourselves, it offers opportunities to grow which is necessary for our journeys. I also believe, every positive value counts and will lead to positive returns if not instantaneously, sometime in the future. Keep doing good and do not be afraid of doing what you feel is right, without expecting instant results.
What is created to serve, or protect can be used to destroy. Arms and guns in the hands of soldiers are for killing the enemy, protecting the nation. The same arms and guns in the hands of terrorists kill innocent people. We are prescribed medicines when we fall ill, but a lot of medicines have side effects! While fire can be used for cooking, it can also burn a house down. Take food for instance, there is so much of delicious food around us, made so creatively that's delightful to see and taste. When food is consumed mindfully, it nourishes the body and gives us energy. If food is constantly consumed to offer comfort during stress or if you overeat or make unhealthy food choices, food can make the body ill with disease and the doctor tells you to stay away from those foods you once devoured. People in power can use their power to accomplish great things, inspire people and bring out the best in or misuse their power and cause suffering. Maybe there were times when you trusted and you were betrayed or let down by someone you believed in. When you did good, or meant well, put in some great effort, or great faith, you went out of your way to accomplish something, but something negative happened or you got a negative response, or lead to unimaginable chaos, and you wonder why, what went wrong, why did it go wrong.
Personally, I don't believe this goes for every positive value. Not everything of positive value has a price in negative terms. In life, things can go right and things can go wrong no matter how good your intent or initiative is. Life has it's seasons. It's important to realize that we have control over ourselves, our thoughts, our choices but there is a limit to how much we can control people, events, outcomes, reactions from others, within our sphere of influence. Through every experience, we learn about life, about ourselves, it offers opportunities to grow which is necessary for our journeys. I also believe, every positive value counts and will lead to positive returns if not instantaneously, sometime in the future. Keep doing good and do not be afraid of doing what you feel is right, without expecting instant results.
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