Well, it's Holy Friday. Retail shops were closed, which is almost sacrilegious to those that disdain the religious. However, many cafes and restaurants were open, surely a suitable compromise for the secular world? I paid a 10% surcharge for the kids Pizza and yet the Assyrian Kebab shop supplied me with Vegetable Iskanders at normal price. That also seems to be a suitable compromise.
Compromise might be the wrong word, or it might be the right word. I see compromise as where everyone loses equally. Some people seek compromise, I personally see it as a last resort. I'm still young enough to have the youthful optimism of win-win, and old enough to give enemies no quarter. In this case though, secular society is not my enemy, and aside from the few that prefer winge-winge over win-win, Christian and atheist alike are quite capable of marking Easter as a time of deeper reflection, connection with family and friends, and perhaps in that path, find a connection with a deeper faith in life, in all it's impersonal cruelty and intimate interdependence.
It has greater significance to the devout Christian of course. It's more than a mere holiday, or an excuse to eat chocolate. But in seeking the answers to questions of faith, you will find answers to the meaning of life. Something even atheists confess to entertain. We find such philosophy on the cross, and philosophers might do well to ponder the nature of that sacrifice. I find some contrast and yet relevance, in the philosophic questions around the right to die. If philosophy cannot answer such fundamental questions on life or death, and for that matter, the value of life, it would be a poor philosophy indeed.
Such topics seem all far too serious for a Friday Night Free for All, but this is perhaps the most serious Friday night of the year.
Even so, drop by and just say hello. Confess, if you will, to your favourite Easter Egg. I like the marshmallow types. Simple, low cost and yummy!
Compromise might be the wrong word, or it might be the right word. I see compromise as where everyone loses equally. Some people seek compromise, I personally see it as a last resort. I'm still young enough to have the youthful optimism of win-win, and old enough to give enemies no quarter. In this case though, secular society is not my enemy, and aside from the few that prefer winge-winge over win-win, Christian and atheist alike are quite capable of marking Easter as a time of deeper reflection, connection with family and friends, and perhaps in that path, find a connection with a deeper faith in life, in all it's impersonal cruelty and intimate interdependence.
It has greater significance to the devout Christian of course. It's more than a mere holiday, or an excuse to eat chocolate. But in seeking the answers to questions of faith, you will find answers to the meaning of life. Something even atheists confess to entertain. We find such philosophy on the cross, and philosophers might do well to ponder the nature of that sacrifice. I find some contrast and yet relevance, in the philosophic questions around the right to die. If philosophy cannot answer such fundamental questions on life or death, and for that matter, the value of life, it would be a poor philosophy indeed.
Such topics seem all far too serious for a Friday Night Free for All, but this is perhaps the most serious Friday night of the year.
Even so, drop by and just say hello. Confess, if you will, to your favourite Easter Egg. I like the marshmallow types. Simple, low cost and yummy!
Evening all. A lazy day here, apart from moving rocks, cleaning cluster flies out of the shed, servicing the car and a bit of landscaping. None of which took very long.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow is for painting, moving a truckload of firewood and perhaps moving this computer into the spare room.
Work is prayer, the Buddhists say..
Evening KG and Zen Tiger. Relaxing day for us. Church this morning. Only lasted half the service because my youngest decided to full his nappy and I forgot to bring a change!!!!
ReplyDeleteDeep intro Zen. Personally I would like to see no shops open on Sunday, every day of the year. I dont make my crust from selling so dosen't concern me and think it would make a great family day throughout the country. When I become a politician that is what I'm going campaign with.
like the picture in the right margin. How did you do that???
ReplyDeletehe took his teeth out!
ReplyDeleteFirewood friday today. Autumn arrived this week and the six month drought seems to be over. Still very warm post noon though.
I would support shutting everything on a sunday and the no ads on TV has been great as well.
Evening all. Just been distracted with a hack and slash online game with my eldest son. We have contained evil this rough night, and now it's time to get some kip.
ReplyDeleteNot sure why or how the picture is floating on the right margin - no doubt a trick from Andrei. The effect is quite interesting.
I do like the idea of Sunday being commercial free and retail free, but I can't see the clock being turned back. There are always cases for reasonable exceptions to such rules, and then those exceptions become the norm, and new exceptions are made.
Society has moved from being a largely like-minded community to the reign of the individual, which includes the rending of the social fabric to ensure the individual's desires and preferences take precedence over a common heritage and the learned wisdom of honoring that community by respecting it's rhythms. Multi-culturalism has hastened the disintegration, society now being a melting pot of many communities. Whilst this has it's positive side, it still needs a strong common denominator to bind people together. What that is for NZ, I do not know.
Oops, can't escape the Friday seriousness tonight :-)
ReplyDeleteEvening all;
ReplyDeleteJust back from the Lamentations of the Tomb service - very profound.
I'm glad you like the Icon Ozzy - its to remind everybody who visits for whatever reason just what day it is.
All day today it has been a Crucifiction Icon.
Now I have returned from Lamentations it is a Burial Icon.
And after Church tomorrow it will change again. Can you guess as to what? I'm sure you can.
I hope its not to intrusive will being obvious.
I'm sad the most important thing some people think about today and Sunday is the shops are closed.
They just don't get it, I wish I had the communication skills to give them the gift of understanding.
But maybe their ears are blocked and their eyes are blind and the doors to their souls closed up tight.
I hope its not to intrusive will being obvious.
ReplyDeleteGah I meant I don't want it to be too intrusive but I do want it to be seen.
If you don't like it, it is purely temporary
Society has moved from being a largely like-minded community to the reign of the individual
ReplyDeleteYou read NotPC's post also?
I've spent pretty much all day contemplating the passion, and asking myself two questions: Would I die as well & am I worthy of his payment?
Zen - compromise is win-win...is the glass half-full or half-empty with you..?
ReplyDeleteStand-offs lead to stalemates and do- nothing is generally lose-lose (no progress anywhere). As for win-lose then you need fascists...but not sure how this defined...shall we restart that debate? ;-)
Cadbury's cream eggs and Cadbury's buttons were my favourite eggs.
ReplyDeleteThose Lindt Bunnies weren't bad.
I quite enjoyed the peace and quiet of the day, but there are many glaring inconsistencies in what was open and not.
There again, it's only a couple of days of the year and the country has more pressing priorities.
Hi Sean - sometimes I just look at the amount of liquid, rather than the size of the glass. An overly large glass means the liquid will not make the half way mark, but sometimes it's still exactly enough to slack my thirst.
ReplyDeleteWhy demand a top up just to get it to the halfway mark, or even to the full mark? Why measure the quantity of the liquid by the size of the glass? The only time the size is relevant is if it cannot possibly hold the liquid in at all.
You seem to suggest comprise means a person sees the glass half full. Surely, thinking towards win-win sees the glass half full?
For me, the process of negotiation is not to reach compromise, but win-win. This comes about when each party recognizes the risks and costs associated with the deal that the other party faces. By seeking mutual understanding, people are prepared to look for a "win-win". That might look like a compromise was reached to the unattentive observer, but I suggest people walking away having accepted a compromise means the deal is never closed.
Look at the Maori settlement process. They declare every win is only a compromise. By the rest of New Zealand granting concessions, thinking a compromise has been reached, we only continue the process. Compromise only ever sees the glass half full.
At least, that's the way I see it.
You read NotPC's post also?
ReplyDeleteErr, no. Thanks for the heads up, Ciaron. I'll be sure to have a read. Not PC is one of my regular reads, but I have not been regular with blogging nor blog reading for the last month.
Andrei - I like the effect of the floating picture. Very appropriate at this time.
ReplyDeleteCiaron, Francis Porretto posted a superb response to PC's post. So good, I put the whole thing up at CR.
ReplyDeleteOK, I've read it now, and Francis's response (indeed, very good) and posted my take on Peter's perspective. (Just up a bit higher on the post listing)
ReplyDeleteKG, I saw that this morning. After reading Francis's reply,there was nothing I could add..... :)
ReplyDeleteHave I wasted my time with a whole post then? :-)
ReplyDeleteNot at all Zen, simply lamenting my inferiority ;)
ReplyDeleteZen (10:22 AM, April 03, 2010) - I'm confused by the first 2 paragraphs. The size of the glass is the same, as is the amount of liquid, but the half-full/half-empty analogy refers to being an optimist/pessimist.
ReplyDelete"You seem to suggest comprise means a person sees the glass half full." - not really, I meant you see it half-empty since you said in your post "I see compromise as where everyone loses equally."
I understand your 4th paragraph. I still see compromise as win-win due to two opposing parties having reached a deal, but I think what you mean here is increasing the size of the pie (or is it cake)? These are better, more intelligent negotiations.
But a far cry from being "old enough to give enemies no quarter"...
Hi Sean. My first two paragraphs were aimed at turning the analogy on it's head. As I said - I can be optimistic even if the glass is quarter full, because it depends on the actual quantity of the liquid.
ReplyDeleteI get your point, I'm just really musing on if it's time to expand on the analogy.
As for para 4, I'm not trying to increase the size of the pie, just drive the point that win-win is very different from compromise.
The best explanation I can give is just to sit back and watch the ongoing Maori settlement process, and the foreshore and seabed negotiations. Compromise will mean the settlements never reach "full and final".
As for enemies given no quarter, sure. Have you ever seen those negotiations where the aim of one party, is to gain anything in the name of "compromise" and then use that as a stepping stone to the next concession until they are strong enough to give up on the negotiations completely, and revert to force.
Israel will one day cease to exist on this basis, surrounded by a few hundred million Arabs and Persians that want them all dead (and a few hundred million that want them gone from the area). Every compromise is a loss in that regard. However, if the genuine intent of both parties was to achieve a win-win, then matters would be very different. I just don't see the middle east getting to that point.
Chamberlain's "peace in our time" was another great compromise that wasn't.
Saul Alinsky's followers would no doubt furnish more current examples on their approach to negotiation.
It's foolish, IMHO, not to understand that about the party one is negotiating with.