What I take from this is that humans tend to let our emotions guide our decision-making moreso than logic. Or we use some value-set that can appear as inconsistency to the outside world, but that appears completely consistent to the person. Such as someone letting their politics guide their decisions, if a decision benefits their candidate, they support it. If it does not, they don't. Or like a sports fan who supports their coach doing something, but if the rival coach does the same thing to his team, he doesn't like it. That seems like inconsistency to us, but to the sports fan it seems consistent, because he is consistently acting in a way that benefits his team.
Said a shorter way: We live in interesting times LOL Have a great day, Neela!
Yes we do live in interesting times. Things are a bit more complicated when we dig deeper but behind it all is still an imperfect human motivated by different things. Thank you so much for adding to the conversation.
To cite another metaphor, there is a fable about a water carrier carrying two pots to a stream. One pot carries water perfectly, while the other leaks due to a crack. Though it doesn't carry a full amount, the cracked pot waters the plants along the path. The moral of the story -- we're all cracked pots (well, I certainly am), full of flaws and inconsistencies. But maybe there is virtue. If we can turn those into something to benefit others rather than judge them for theirs.
We're all inconsistent, imperfect. When will we realise this? We will only navigate a world where even our childhood heroes turn out to be as complex and flawed as we are if we finally stop thinking that they didn't embody perfection, nor would they if it were even desirable... 🤔
Thank you, Neela. Although I despise the information I found out ( I didn't know this about him and just spent the last hour diving into everything I could find out about Flit and Standard Oil....oi!) I am struck by the irony, which I guess is the point. We all have demons. We are all imperfect. It reminds me of a scripture that I repeat to myself when I'm feeling particularly judgy, "Judge not, lest ye be judged." In the end, I find I'm working on listening, learning, unlearning, and relearning so I can be the best version of myself each day. The only crooked finger I'm pointing is squarely back at myself.
We all do, and by all accounts, Dr. Seuss was not a dismal man. His experiences and society just influenced him at the time. This is all we can do, Chason—you and me both.
Well well I did not know that about Dr Seuss. So interesting. But I guess, like you say, we are all complex beings. Life just isn't that simple and we're all capable of holding ideas that maybe later we regret or think differently about.
Absolutely Sophie. I believe (although don't quote me on this) - a few of Dr Seuss's books were banned at some point. But there was not a racist bone in his body (from what I read anyway)
I hope you are having a good weekend. Thank you so much for stopping by 🙏
You definitely nailed it! This is something that I think the world has forgotten of late--if we ever really grasped it. If I may, from a Christian perspective, this is a concept taught at my church every week. We call it our "inner sin nature". Even the most upright, devout Christians sin daily! You'll see examples all over the Bible in fact. For example, King David was loved by God, but he was an adulterer!
I've studied WWII for 3/4 of my life and I look at Oskar Schindler as an example of this. The man was a member of the Nazi party of all things and yet, in many eyes, he's a hero because of the thousands of Jews he saved in Poland.
These stories remind me to look just a little deeper at those around me. Are their actions part of an ongoing pattern or momentary weakness? Or like you said, finding grace in inconsistency!
You’ve really captured something important here. It’s easy to forget that complexity is part of the human experience—no one is immune to flaws, no matter how righteous they seem.
Thank you for taking the time to leave insightful feedback. Enjoy the rest of your week.
This blew my mind Neela! I think you've stumbled onto why I hate eggs so much; it was that Green Eggs and Ham dish served up by Dr Seuss I tell ya!! Another gem Sis... awesome work!! Which Presidential candidate is the Grinch.... ? Too soon.....? Leaving now.... lol
Oh yes, I hate eggs even more then pineapple on pizza! The smell is atrocious and they taste like they smell! Yeah slim pickings and I feel for you! lol My keen interest in US politics of late really has me shaking my head at the lows I am witnessing with one male candidate openly mocking those with disabilities, like seriously... no... !!!! Always a pleasure Sis! 🤗🙏💛
It sure was, and if that's how he'll MAGA then that's deeply disturbing. And ha ha ... He seems to be a decent chap!
Oh yes indeedio.... in Asia some places ban the eating of Durian fruit being consumed because, well they smell like farts... Um... HELLO... eggs people EGGS!!!...... 🤗😁
Terrific piece, Neela, thanks for the reminder. Complex creatures like Sneeches are absolutely capable of holding two different thoughts at the same time, sometimes even three!
"...the nature of human behavior is complicated and sometimes contradictory. "
And often we demand consistency from another, more so from creatives who put themselves in the public eye. Haven't we hear 'he/she wrote a wonderful book, but I will not read it because their life is a mess. I've heard it said of Dr. Seuss too.
Thank you for taking the more accepting, understanding stance.
I think you understand the world and you are empathetic towards others. I wish more people were like you 😉 Dr Seuss has some good books to be honest. A couple of them were banned 🙄
Happy Wednesday Salima.
Thank you for taking the time. Thank you for restacking 🙌
Great article Neela. I love Seuss so you had me at the title. You have made an incredibly complex topic easy to understand and maybe... just maybe... will help a few people be more understanding in life along the way. Which can only be a good thing. Great stuff as ever.
I truly love this post. It brought me joy and relief for my consistent inconsistency. It’s the only thing I do reliably. 🫣🙃😉
Hey Michelle
How are you?
You see, when folks preach to you, "Be consistent."
Wack them over the head with a bounty roll or something.
We're not robots, Michelle. We can't be consistent in everything we do. And that's okay.
We can be purposeful, and this works so much better.
Thank you so much for chiming in.
None of us are perfect! As a recovering perfectionist, I have learned to embrace my faults, mistakes, and much more, and I love it.
Cheers to us celebrating and enjoying life like a rollercoaster ride, sis! :D
Recovering perfectionist here 🙋♀️
Thank you so much sis.
Cheers to you too.
Happy Wednesday ☺️
What I take from this is that humans tend to let our emotions guide our decision-making moreso than logic. Or we use some value-set that can appear as inconsistency to the outside world, but that appears completely consistent to the person. Such as someone letting their politics guide their decisions, if a decision benefits their candidate, they support it. If it does not, they don't. Or like a sports fan who supports their coach doing something, but if the rival coach does the same thing to his team, he doesn't like it. That seems like inconsistency to us, but to the sports fan it seems consistent, because he is consistently acting in a way that benefits his team.
Said a shorter way: We live in interesting times LOL Have a great day, Neela!
Yes we do live in interesting times. Things are a bit more complicated when we dig deeper but behind it all is still an imperfect human motivated by different things. Thank you so much for adding to the conversation.
Happy Wednesday ☺️
To cite another metaphor, there is a fable about a water carrier carrying two pots to a stream. One pot carries water perfectly, while the other leaks due to a crack. Though it doesn't carry a full amount, the cracked pot waters the plants along the path. The moral of the story -- we're all cracked pots (well, I certainly am), full of flaws and inconsistencies. But maybe there is virtue. If we can turn those into something to benefit others rather than judge them for theirs.
Paul my friend I love this comment.
We need to dig deeper
Take a closer look.
We are too easily dismissive of things we don't understand.
Like Mack said we live in interesting times.
I appreciate you 🙏
Happy Wednesday
Indeed, we do. I appreciate you, too!
We're all inconsistent, imperfect. When will we realise this? We will only navigate a world where even our childhood heroes turn out to be as complex and flawed as we are if we finally stop thinking that they didn't embody perfection, nor would they if it were even desirable... 🤔
I hope some of us realize this.
They say we stop living at age 25 but are not buried until age 70.
We need to start living.
Happy Tuesday, Nadine!
Amen to that!
Thank you, Neela. Although I despise the information I found out ( I didn't know this about him and just spent the last hour diving into everything I could find out about Flit and Standard Oil....oi!) I am struck by the irony, which I guess is the point. We all have demons. We are all imperfect. It reminds me of a scripture that I repeat to myself when I'm feeling particularly judgy, "Judge not, lest ye be judged." In the end, I find I'm working on listening, learning, unlearning, and relearning so I can be the best version of myself each day. The only crooked finger I'm pointing is squarely back at myself.
We all do, and by all accounts, Dr. Seuss was not a dismal man. His experiences and society just influenced him at the time. This is all we can do, Chason—you and me both.
Happy Tuesday to you!
Thank you for taking the time :)
If your cat could talk!
Oh man
The stories it would tell 🤣
Thank you for stopping by 🙏
I am thinking… Maybe my cat wants to be on here once in a while!
Well well I did not know that about Dr Seuss. So interesting. But I guess, like you say, we are all complex beings. Life just isn't that simple and we're all capable of holding ideas that maybe later we regret or think differently about.
Absolutely Sophie. I believe (although don't quote me on this) - a few of Dr Seuss's books were banned at some point. But there was not a racist bone in his body (from what I read anyway)
I hope you are having a good weekend. Thank you so much for stopping by 🙏
You definitely nailed it! This is something that I think the world has forgotten of late--if we ever really grasped it. If I may, from a Christian perspective, this is a concept taught at my church every week. We call it our "inner sin nature". Even the most upright, devout Christians sin daily! You'll see examples all over the Bible in fact. For example, King David was loved by God, but he was an adulterer!
I've studied WWII for 3/4 of my life and I look at Oskar Schindler as an example of this. The man was a member of the Nazi party of all things and yet, in many eyes, he's a hero because of the thousands of Jews he saved in Poland.
These stories remind me to look just a little deeper at those around me. Are their actions part of an ongoing pattern or momentary weakness? Or like you said, finding grace in inconsistency!
Hey Scott
How are you?
You’ve really captured something important here. It’s easy to forget that complexity is part of the human experience—no one is immune to flaws, no matter how righteous they seem.
Thank you for taking the time to leave insightful feedback. Enjoy the rest of your week.
Doing well thanks for asking. We’ve been in our new house for a month as of Saturday, so we’re not working ourselves to death!
I just finished reading A Higher Call so this topic was fresh in my mind. Definitely a worthwhile read—especially for students of WWII history!
Congratulations Scott. I know we spoke briefly about this move, it seemed like yesterday 🤣
Time flies.
Thank you for the recommendation.
I will check it out 🙂
Now I'm left wondering what Hop on Pop was all about
I actually love that one.
I bet many LinkedIn gurus may benefit from reading 🤣
Thank you David ....
😂
This blew my mind Neela! I think you've stumbled onto why I hate eggs so much; it was that Green Eggs and Ham dish served up by Dr Seuss I tell ya!! Another gem Sis... awesome work!! Which Presidential candidate is the Grinch.... ? Too soon.....? Leaving now.... lol
I never knew you hated eggs 🤣
Truthfully I have to be in a mood to eat them myself.
There are only 2 of them so 🤣🤣
Thank you so much for stopping by bro 🤗
Oh yes, I hate eggs even more then pineapple on pizza! The smell is atrocious and they taste like they smell! Yeah slim pickings and I feel for you! lol My keen interest in US politics of late really has me shaking my head at the lows I am witnessing with one male candidate openly mocking those with disabilities, like seriously... no... !!!! Always a pleasure Sis! 🤗🙏💛
Yes that was in poor taste. I was living vicariously through Gus Walz there for a second because my dad sucked 🤣
Same here. The smell of eggs 🤢
🤗
It sure was, and if that's how he'll MAGA then that's deeply disturbing. And ha ha ... He seems to be a decent chap!
Oh yes indeedio.... in Asia some places ban the eating of Durian fruit being consumed because, well they smell like farts... Um... HELLO... eggs people EGGS!!!...... 🤗😁
We are all consistently inconsistent! And, it's ok to show some grace to ourselves. Another wonderful read, Neela! Thank you!
More grace needed in this world. Thank you Karen.
Happy Wednesday
Terrific piece, Neela, thanks for the reminder. Complex creatures like Sneeches are absolutely capable of holding two different thoughts at the same time, sometimes even three!
Yes they are and in my opinion this is okay.
Thank you for restacking.
Thank you so much for adding to the conversation.
Enjoy the rest of your week 😄
"...the nature of human behavior is complicated and sometimes contradictory. "
And often we demand consistency from another, more so from creatives who put themselves in the public eye. Haven't we hear 'he/she wrote a wonderful book, but I will not read it because their life is a mess. I've heard it said of Dr. Seuss too.
Thank you for taking the more accepting, understanding stance.
We are all humans and I truly believe consistency is overrated and meant for robots.
We are beautifully imperfect. Every single one of us.
Thank you Anjali.
Enjoy the rest of your week 😊
Humans are complex. And you have articulated it brilliantly, Neela. Until today I didn’t know anything about Dr Seuss and his writings.
Early on in my life I was hammered with the idea of cosmopolitan ethics - “A readiness to accept the complexity of human beings”.
This is probably why I am often clueless 👀
You are anything but clueless.
I think you understand the world and you are empathetic towards others. I wish more people were like you 😉 Dr Seuss has some good books to be honest. A couple of them were banned 🙄
Happy Wednesday Salima.
Thank you for taking the time. Thank you for restacking 🙌
Great article Neela. I love Seuss so you had me at the title. You have made an incredibly complex topic easy to understand and maybe... just maybe... will help a few people be more understanding in life along the way. Which can only be a good thing. Great stuff as ever.
Just maybe 🤣
Life is complicated but yet so simple.
Once we appreciate people and their lived experiences all will be well..
Thank you so much for stopping by.
Thank you for restacking 🙌