You are aware that I love the class I attend every Sunday called "Forum." No, it's not like the Roman Forum, but these two concepts sort of merged this past Sunday when our presenter, Gary, asked us to discuss Cicero's "Six Mistakes of Man." As it turned out, we had to postpone the discussion for another time.
 |
| Cicero, Roman Orator, Philosopher, Politician, Writer, Lawyer Born 106 BC, Died 43 BC |
Wouldn't you love to be in a group of smart, kind, open folks who want to hear your opinion on serious issues? And then share their own? I have this every Sunday.
We'll discuss these "mistakes" at a later date. Maybe you'd like to join us. In the meantime, here they are. What do you think?
Cicero's Six Mistakes of Man.
1. The Illusion that personal gain is made up of crushing others.
We like to kid around about how this is a job description for lawyers. But Cicero was a lawyer and Dave and I attended a funeral for a lawyer yesterday and heard many stories of love, kindness and generosity. It is possible to be a successful lawyer or stock broker or real estate developer without the goal of crushing others?
2. The tendency to worry about things that cannot be changed or corrected.
Easier said than done.
3. Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it.
On Sunday we went straight from Forum to the worship service which started with a short video about Roger Bannister running the four minute mile. Prior to that time, experts had said that it was impossible for a human being to do this. Since Bannister did it, hundreds of people have done it, including kids and older folks. I used to think I could do it. But this made me think about "Mistake #2" and how do we really know that things cannot be changed or corrected?
4. Refusing to set aside personal preferences.
5. Neglecting development and refinement of the mind, and not acquiring the habit of reading and study.
I'm totally with Cicero on this one.
6. Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.
I know people who think of this as their mission - but this is definitely not what Forum is about.
I can't wait to discuss this stuff.
***
