system idle process
What if I climbed that mountain
What if I swam to that shore
What if every battle was victorious
Then would you love me more?
Would you love me more?
What if I were everyone's last choice
What if I mixed in with the rest
What if I failed what I passed before
Then would you love me less?
Lord would you love me less?
Every once in a while a new theme comes up in my life, and I spend a great many brain cycles contemplating that theme and integrating various viewpoints and ideas into it. When I was very small that theme was The Future; later on it was Technology. My current theme is Altruism.
This is one reason I've been so excited at Google's incredible success. This company is the virtual embodiment of altruism. Google started out with two university students and a garage. With virtually no marketing--all word-of-mouth--they are now the #1 search company on the planet, because they're straight shooters who treat their employees well, aren't afraid to have fun, don't play games with accounting, and use their extra cash from AdSense and the IPO to make random cool free stuff for the entire world to enjoy. Their official corporate motto is "Don't be evil." In the history of the world, there has never been another company like Google. There are a lot of people who don't understand Google--they've been burned before by other companies, and as they see Google increase in power they shake their heads and prepare for something really nasty to happen--something I believe never will. I'm a fan of Google, and proud of it--they're doing things that no-one else has ever done, releasing them for free, and as a result the world is a better place.
As much as I can, Altruism is a principle I try to exercise in my daily life. I think smiling at random people and treating people as wonderful until they prove otherwise improves quality of life for everyone. According to the dictionary, "goodwill" is probably a better word for this attitude, but "altruism" has a better ring to it. Not everyone practices this, of course, which is a risk, but seeking out those who do is highly rewarding.
I've joined a D-Group (short for Discipleship Group) at APU, which I'm hoping will help to relieve some of the loneliness and interpersonal issues I experienced in my first year here at college. A D-Group is a group of a few guys who meet every week, make close friends, and help each other through the stuff that goes on at college. One of the things we're doing together is reading through a book called What's So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey. Grace and Altruism are not quite the same concept, but as lifestlyes they're closely related, I think. From the little I've read, Yancey believes Grace is something Christians should practice as a way of life. If his book is as good as the reviews suggest, reading Yancey's perspective should be very rewarding.
What if I swam to that shore
What if every battle was victorious
Then would you love me more?
Would you love me more?
What if I were everyone's last choice
What if I mixed in with the rest
What if I failed what I passed before
Then would you love me less?
Lord would you love me less?
Every once in a while a new theme comes up in my life, and I spend a great many brain cycles contemplating that theme and integrating various viewpoints and ideas into it. When I was very small that theme was The Future; later on it was Technology. My current theme is Altruism.
This is one reason I've been so excited at Google's incredible success. This company is the virtual embodiment of altruism. Google started out with two university students and a garage. With virtually no marketing--all word-of-mouth--they are now the #1 search company on the planet, because they're straight shooters who treat their employees well, aren't afraid to have fun, don't play games with accounting, and use their extra cash from AdSense and the IPO to make random cool free stuff for the entire world to enjoy. Their official corporate motto is "Don't be evil." In the history of the world, there has never been another company like Google. There are a lot of people who don't understand Google--they've been burned before by other companies, and as they see Google increase in power they shake their heads and prepare for something really nasty to happen--something I believe never will. I'm a fan of Google, and proud of it--they're doing things that no-one else has ever done, releasing them for free, and as a result the world is a better place.
As much as I can, Altruism is a principle I try to exercise in my daily life. I think smiling at random people and treating people as wonderful until they prove otherwise improves quality of life for everyone. According to the dictionary, "goodwill" is probably a better word for this attitude, but "altruism" has a better ring to it. Not everyone practices this, of course, which is a risk, but seeking out those who do is highly rewarding.
I've joined a D-Group (short for Discipleship Group) at APU, which I'm hoping will help to relieve some of the loneliness and interpersonal issues I experienced in my first year here at college. A D-Group is a group of a few guys who meet every week, make close friends, and help each other through the stuff that goes on at college. One of the things we're doing together is reading through a book called What's So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey. Grace and Altruism are not quite the same concept, but as lifestlyes they're closely related, I think. From the little I've read, Yancey believes Grace is something Christians should practice as a way of life. If his book is as good as the reviews suggest, reading Yancey's perspective should be very rewarding.