Daily Meditation: Thursday, October 21, 2010

Reflection - must precede all action

10/21/2010

Before any kind of undertaking, wise people begin by reflecting; they consider all aspects of the work they have to do or the problem they have to solve; then, they bring love into it, that is to say, a taste for the task to be carried out and an interest in it; lastly, they decide to begin the work that will carry the plan through. So, we can say that wise people conceive of something clearly in their mind, which they then strengthen and bring to life through feelings of love and, finally, bring to fruition thanks to an unshakeable will. And now let's see how most humans go about things. They launch suddenly into action without having properly studied the plan; then, obviously, they come up against obstacles, they suffer and lament, and it is only after having thoroughly lamented that they end up reflecting on the reasons for their failure. Well, it's a bit late then; they should have reflected in the first place.