"Doing good for the sake of goodness."
"As we are a doomed race, chained to a sinking ship (her favourite reading as a girl was Huxley and Tyndall, and they were fond of these nautical metaphors), as the whole thing is a bad joke, let us, at any rate, do our part; mitigate the sufferings of our fellow-prisoners (Huxley again); decorate the dungeon with flowers and air-cushions; be as decent as we possibly can. Those ruffians, the Gods, shan't have it all their own way-her notion being that the Gods who never lost a chance of hurting thwarting and spoiling human lives, were seriously put out if, all the same, you behaved like a lady."
-Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
***
Ever since I read Mrs. Dalloway last year in Mrs. Van Orden's class, this quote has kept resurfacing in my mind in every possible type of situation. I think my outlook on life is very similar to this here quote. I've been told before that I'm foolish for being so optimistic when our world is clearly a mess, but sometimes, taking care of your fellow inmates is the only thing you really can do. You have to fight the good fight, one "please" and "thankyou" at a time... one hug at a time... one smile, one gift, one forwarded e-mail joke at a time. Still a lady, still a gentleman, strong and confident and yet so kind and polite in the face of any adversity.
So that's my stance. Even if the state of the world is bleak, even if most people are corrupt and cruel, I'm still going to do my damndest to make sure everyone has some daffodils for their dungeon window and air-cushions for the bed.
And maybe some chocolate on the bedside table. Yeah, chocolate's good too.
-Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
***
Ever since I read Mrs. Dalloway last year in Mrs. Van Orden's class, this quote has kept resurfacing in my mind in every possible type of situation. I think my outlook on life is very similar to this here quote. I've been told before that I'm foolish for being so optimistic when our world is clearly a mess, but sometimes, taking care of your fellow inmates is the only thing you really can do. You have to fight the good fight, one "please" and "thankyou" at a time... one hug at a time... one smile, one gift, one forwarded e-mail joke at a time. Still a lady, still a gentleman, strong and confident and yet so kind and polite in the face of any adversity.
So that's my stance. Even if the state of the world is bleak, even if most people are corrupt and cruel, I'm still going to do my damndest to make sure everyone has some daffodils for their dungeon window and air-cushions for the bed.
And maybe some chocolate on the bedside table. Yeah, chocolate's good too.