"That's Dumb"

        In university one day a friend and I were talking about a school project he had that was due in a few days. He had to do a paragraph write-up of 3 presidents and their disparate political ideologies. I mentioned something like that sounded manageable, and he came back with, 'yea, but I'm doing 20 presidents, not 3.' 
       Well I was sure now that he was a teacher's pet going so far beyond the call of duty, that I mockingly made references to his flagrant obsequiousness. In a tone of voice I'll likely remember for the rest of my life, he said, "No. I'm doing it because limiting the project to 3 presidents is dumb. In order for the project to be even worth doing, I feel it necessary to widen its scope."
       Moral: I was blown away by this revelation, the essence of which I had been running away from my whole life. I had always been motivated solely to get meaningless "A's" instead of aspiring for intellectual refinement for its own sake. I had always put in the minimum amount of effort to get the grade I was targeting, instead of looking to see how far I could advance along the path of erudition. It made me remorseful of all of the resources that I had, including my boundless free time, that had been pumped into mindless endeavors and trifling pursuits instead of into my academic advancement. 
      I saw immediate parallels with my spiritual life. Here I was a Bahá'í, given all of the spiritual tools to develop the attributes of my higher nature, but instead I was heeding the dictum of 'do the bare minimum'. I realized, albeit later than my friend did, that such an approach is nothing other than 'just plain dumb' That I wasn't being true to my higher self if I was constantly looking for shortcuts and side roads. As the quote goes, "he that is worried about doing too much always does too little." From this point forward, I first identify those things that are truly important, (education, spirituality, and family), and put my full energy behind it, ignoring the 'minimums' and only aspiring for the maximums. 
                                                                                        Thanks Corey. 
 

        During my senior years of High School, we had some blinging parties at our Weston home. We would always have a surplus of food, friends, and fun. One night after one of these affairs, I had agreed to drive some of these revelers home. So on the way, one partygoer was talking about school and her life etc. When we got near to her house the time was approximately 11:10pm. I asked her what her curfew was...she said, "11:30pm, but I aimed to get home early because I didn't want to take advantage." 
       On a separate occasion I was with a friend shopping for a new pair of kicks. She mentioned to me that her father had generously given her $70 for the shoes. Well the shoes she ended up buying were a pair of $95 Nike running shoes. What astonished me was that afterward she gave her dad back like $8 in change! Again on the theme of not wanting to take advantage.  
        Moral: These twin events profoundly stunned me because they advocated a method of thinking that was entirely foreign. Growing up, if the curfew was 12:00, there was always a 15 minute window (grace period) and Brian and I would always come home reliably at 12:18. If we were given cash to buy shoes, you could kiss that cash good-bye because it was as good as spent (along with like $50 of our own funds). I had never known anything besides pushing the envelope, and relentlessly knocking up parents for more money, a later curfew, or additional privileges. I honestly thought that this was the only approach to life. These two young ladies showed me for the first time the balance that should exist--the equilibrium if you will--between the wills of two people, the invisible line of grace that should not be breached, the appreciation I should have for bounties that are neither earned nor deserved.                                        
                                                                                      Thanks unknown and Sarah

             A friend and I were fixin' to study together in the Marston Science Library at the University of Florida. On the day we chose to go, it was particularly busy, with every table and desk practically filled. And we both wanted a table--instead of adjoining desks--so we could really get our learn on. Anyway, after circumambulating a few floors of the library we decided that we were going to have to ask someone sitting by themselves on a huge table to kindly relocate. Walking a little further, I saw the perfect choice. A table with only a single, female Asian student. My friend had another table in his sights, one occupied by a male, frat-boy type. I was like, 'Come on, she's much more likely to agree to move." But my friend replied, "Yes, but he's probably more able to say no." 
           Moral: This experience taught me a lot about the virtue of courtesy. That we must sincerely consider the needs of other people in light of our own--and work toward arrangements where both sides benefit. A shift in thinking from trying to exploit someone's weaknesses, to vigorously protecting their interests. 
                                                                                         Thanks Ariel.