From The Apology of Socrates:
“O my friend, why do you who are a citizen
of the great and mighty and wise city of Athens, care so much
about laying up the greatest amount of money and honor and reputation,
and so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest improvement of
the soul, which you never regard or heed at all? Are you not ashamed of this?
“I tell you that virtue is not given by
money, but that from virtue come money and every other good of
man, public as well as private.”
From Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall: “There are two
goddesses in your heart,” he (Dr. Joe Vigil) told them (young ultra runners
when the sport was starting to attract sponsors and money.) “The Goddess of
Wisdom and the Goddess of Wealth. Everyone thinks they need to get wealth
first, and wisdom will come. So they concern themselves with chasing money. But
they have it backwards. You have to give your heart to the Goddess of Wisdom,
give her all your love and attention, and the Goddess of Wealth will become
jealous, and follow you.”
Plato recognized that there were things more important than
money. So did Joe Vigil. Even after all this good advice, we
still have problems putting our priorities in perspective. What does this have
to do with philosophy and running? Aren’t both about putting your life in perspective, finding some balance, setting priorities?
This reminds me of what a buddy emailed me years ago. I printed the message out and tacked it on my wall. "Living successfully is about balance, logic vs. emotion, business vs. art, religion vs. philosophy, fate vs. will. When you get too far to one side things get imbalanced and screwed up." I still struggle with balance. That is why it is on my wall! Thanks for the reminder. There is a lot to learn from running without ever getting off the couch.
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