A Gorilla Quote To Live By

There are people who believe that books are a sacred entity... it probably stems from the "good book" itself, aka The Bible. Me, on the other hand, I write in my books and dog-ear the pages that inspired me or that have quotes that I want to write in a document that I keep and call "random writings." These writings are some that I've written and some written by others... they are all kinds of strange things.

Anyhow, I was going back through "My Ishmael" today and I'd dog-eared one page with this quote:

“All of you must be teachers, whether you’re lawyers, doctors, stockbrokers, filmmakers, industrialists, world leaders, students, fry cooks, or street cleaners. Nothing less than a world of changed minds is going to save you—and changing minds is something every single one of you can do, no matter who you are or how you’re situated. If you can’t reach a hundred, then reach ten. And if you can’t reach ten, then reach one—because that one may reach a million.”

Yes, you said it Daniel Quinn. I'm in.

UPDATE 3/10: I thought about this post a lot since I wrote it. I asked, "Is this how I live my life? Do I try to change minds?" My answer was a resounding, "YES!" The mind that I most often try to change is my own. I've recently read several books that talk about how people do things because that's they way they're done... it's like cultural groupthink... but I resist the "way things are supposed to be" because I don't see that they are doing anything to make the world a better place. People don't smile at each other as they pass on the sidewalk. People get married because they think that's what they're supposed to do--and when they don't, then something "must be wrong with them." People drop their cigarette butts on the street in plain view, without even trying to hide the blatant littering. We need to change the way we think and take some ownership of our actions. When people come to me with their problems, I try to help them step outside of things and look at the big picture. Is this really the right thing for you to do? It doesn't matter if you've invested years of time into something... dedication doesn't make it worthwhile... what matters is that it is right and it is good. Yet, so many people are unwilling to throw in the towel because they spend too much time looking backward, giving value to wasted time, instead of looking forward to make the most of the time they have left.

I'm done rambling, but this is a good direction for a future column, eh.

KC Public Library, please note that I'm not the one that writes and dog-ears the pages in your books!