Eulogy Versus Resume Virtues
VIRTUDES DE ELOGIO VS VIRTUDES DE CURRICULUM--por David Brooks (May 25, 2015)
Como una vez al mes me cruzo con una persona que irradia su luz interior. Esta gente puede ser de cualquier estamento social. Parecen profundamente buenas. Escuchan bien. Te hacen sentir divertido y apreciado. A menudo les ves cuidando a otra persona y lo hacen con una risa musical y llenos de gratitud. No están pensando en el maravilloso trabajo que están haciendo. No están pensando en ellos mismos en absoluto.
Cuando me encuentro con esta gente alumbran mi día por entero. Pero confieso que a menudo tengo un pensamiento más triste: Resulta que he adquirido un nivel decente de éxitos en mi carrera, pero no he logrado eso. No he conseguido esa generosidad de espíritu, ni esa profundidad de carácter.
Hace unos años, me di cuenta de que quería ser un poco más como esa gente. Me di cuenta de que si quería hacer eso iba a tener que trabajar más duro para salvar mi propia alma. Iba a tener que pasar por el tipo de aventuras morales que producen esa clase de bondad. Iba a tener que ser mejor en lo que a equilibrar mi vida se refiere.
Se me ocurrió que había dos tipos de virtudes, las de Curriculum y las de elogio. Pero nuestros sistemas educativos y culturales dedican más tiempo a enseñar las habilidades y estrategias que necesitamos para el éxito en nuestras carreras que las cualidades que necesitamos para radiar ese tipo de luz interior. Muchos de nosotros tenemos más claro cómo construir una carrera externa que cómo construir nuestro carácter interior.
Pero si vives para tener logros externos, ser pasan los años y las partes más profundas de ti continúan estando inexploradas y desestructuradas. Te falta el vocabulario moral. Es fácil acomodarse en la mediocridad moral auto-satisfecha. Te calificas a ti mismo de manera indulgente. Das por sentado que siempre y cuando no hagas daño de forma obvia a nadie y parezca que gustas a la gente, tienes que estar bien. Pero vives con un aburrimiento inconsciente, separado del significado más profundo de la vida y del júbilo moral más grande. Gradualmente, un espacio humillante se abre entre tu yo real y tu yo deseado, entre tú y esas almas incandescentes que a veces te encuentras.
David Brooks es un columnist del NY Times. El pasaje de arriba pertenece a su artículo The Moral Bucket List (Cosas morales que hacer antes de morir)
David Brooks is a columnist from NY Times. The above excerpt is from his article The Moral Bucket List.
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How do you relate to the distinction between eulogy and resume virtues? Can you share a personal story of a time you became aware of this distinction in your own life? What practice helps you develop eulogy virtues?
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20 Past Reflections
On Mar 31, 2024 Santosh wrote :
It also emphasizes eulogy ethics.
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On Oct 29, 2023 Juvairiya wrote :
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On Apr 9, 2023 Lory Alido wrote :
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On Oct 9, 2022 Paul Stumb, Cumberland University wrote :
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On Jun 4, 2020 Don wrote :
1 reply: Harold | Post Your Reply
On Dec 10, 2019 David L Caldwell wrote :
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On Jul 7, 2015 Craig Bell wrote :
Deciding what it is important evolves through a lifetime. I am fortunate to celebrate 77 years and a few years back, I realized that gratitude needed to be my new attitude. It wasn't necessary to find that niche that would lead to glory in this world, but to find ways to improve the lives of others, if possible.... as I realized many in my life had contributed to my own growth. Serving others is what life can be about.
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On Jun 28, 2015 jerard wrote :
For me both of the two are building virtues, the only distinction between the two is that eulogy is a virtue we build prior to the day we leave the world and such virtue will continue to work in hand, while the resume is a virtue we build to be equipped in the present.
To deepen the eulogy virtue, I always end up a day with a good realization for the good and bad times, but still looking at the brighter side of everything and being thankful for the blessings left in hand. That, the best virtue is accepting things happen according to God’s will.
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On May 27, 2015 Sunila wrote :
What a beautiful realization of the ultimate truth of living an impeccable life- that we all can have a meaningful satisfied joyous life when we find our truth and honor our authentic self and that we are being ourselves in every step. This article is a gem :)
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On May 26, 2015 LM wrote :
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On May 26, 2015 Padma wrote :
Beautiful writing to reflect upon. One thing I have realized that when I meet such joyful souls fully rooted into the present, there is definitely desire to be like them. But the desire to be like somebody else can be a dangerous thing as it can go into negative cycle of thoughts of I am not good enough, not present enough and the thoughts keep going on....The thing that helps is having the inner awareness and getting in touch with the "deeper Self" which is present in everyone. There are lot of instances when I loose the touch with this "self" these are the times that become entangled in the external things and situations, then bringing the awareness back to the "being" level helps me stay centered without being sucked into the negativity. Deepening this awareness can help us to be like those joyful , ever present ,radiant souls.
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On May 26, 2015 Tree wrote :
My biggest growth has been by my own hard times....facing them, learning from them & THEN having the empathy for others in trying times & being able to truly have the empathy & also the knowledge to share things that help them & I SEE their spirits lift & their eyes glow & I know I am serving my purpose!
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On May 26, 2015 Sunil,Bangalore wrote :
To me Eulogy and Resume is a question of what you do between the short gap of life & death.Its all about soul connections made during this gap.Personally I can tell you this happens only when you manifest the latent harmony,friendship, forgiveness & the eternal love..................bypassing everything else, all the negativity.What ultimately matters is human relationships and not right or wrong. Cultivating this habit as our culture , daily routine with mindfulness consciously is indeed experiencing the beauty, fulfillment and amazement of life.
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On May 25, 2015 david doane wrote :
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On May 22, 2015 sheetal wrote :
Rightly said Eulogy virtues are only spoken at the time of funeral. The hard truth of the world is that resume virtues are the ones that are celebrated. Sometimes it has been noticed that even spiritual gurus are inclined to support those devotees whose resume virtues are high. The distinction hence stands out clearly and though we would wish to nurture our eulogy virtues sometimes practical reality does tilt it otherwise. The practice one follows is to find a balance between the two and hold on to what helps in living with inner truth of being.
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