Pride. Absolute Value
Tue Jan 17 2006

So here I was. Wanted to write a nice entry about my day. About how I’m having relatively quiet day in the office (*knocks on the wood) how I’ve read 8 chapters of Pastwatch – Orson Card’s book, I’ve got as a gift, about how I’ve scored 5.11 min in me v. me personal competition in Mahjong (and this is very good record for me, as the previous one was 7 min with something, so I’m winning, yeah!) so, I wanted to write about all this peaceful daily routine, when it’s happened again. I mean – thoughts do come to mind when they feel like it, and since it is my mind and my thoughts, what can I do? So I’ve been thinking today…and it was about Pride. 

“We are rarely proud when we are alone.” [Voltair ] 
Don’t you find this to be so true? I do. What could be better then pride in building self-confidence, what could be worse then pride in damaging relationships? And yet it is most difficult to feel proud when assessing personal achievements and it is most hard to hide away your pride when dealing with others. Why it should be all backwards, I wonder? I mean shouldn’t it be opposite way? Is there such thing as “positive” pride? Or – positive side of her? Like in mathematics – negative and positive numbers. The same value, but on the other side of the Zero. And then all depends on which absolute value is higher. 

I’m thinking…what is pride for me? Is it helping me or standing on my way? For every more or less significant moment of my life, when I felt being proud of self in positive way, there would be other moments, when I hated being too proud, yet still I was. At the moment I’m under impression that my pride is somewhat more negative then I’d like it to be. Yet I know there were times when it was pride for what I’ve accomplished, that pushed to accomplish even more, so it was a positive side of it. Is it all – about eternal question of balance again? Or should pride be referred as a sin in general (as it does in Bible) and should we all strive to eliminate it? Is it good – to have pride? And if it is, why then do we need to struggle with her all the time?
5 Comments
  • From:
    Kordelle (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue Jan 17 2006
    lovely Lana you are a beautiful person and you must realize that in every fibre of your existence

    in general I find that people are too down on themselves religion parents society are brow beating us to be certain ways and if we arent we are humiliated and we are self chastised

    anyway cheerio

    life is good still no snow and there are only a couple of months left to winter it is so nice for people like myself that take the public transit all over noman's land
  • From:
    IsolatedHell (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue Jan 17 2006
    In my humble opinion anything we have to struggle with needs to be eliminated, but I also think that it is important to take pride in yourself.~smiles~
  • From:
    Pragmatist (Legacy)
    On:
    Tue Jan 17 2006
    I believe, in the Bible, the word "pride" is also associated with "haughty." That's the key word, I think.

    Yes, I think there's a positive pride. It's what makes us do the best we can on the job. It's what makes us loyal, dependable friends.

    Oh, yes. There's room for pride. And false humility is just as bad as overweening pride.

    Shalom
  • From:
    Kordelle (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Jan 18 2006
    lovely Lana please forgive yesterdays comment ha ha it was so fun you know sleigh riding with words
  • From:
    Warlocc (Legacy)
    On:
    Wed Jan 18 2006
    "They call me cocky
    And I say, 'What?
    It ain't braggin', motherfucker, if you back it up!'" [Kid Rock]

    Crude? Sure. Rude? I'd say so. Correct? Absolutely.