Seize the Day

Right now I am escaping the headache of an economics chapter I really don't understand. Although this is the last day I can do it before the weekend, I really should make this short. I read a cool quote today:

"To be elated at success and disappointed at failure is to be the child of circumstances; how can such a one be called master of himself?" --Chinese Proverb

If this is a measure of self-mastery, then I am far from the mark. I get so excited about small things and then bad things really tend to get me down sometimes, too. On the other hand, I don't think self-mastery means you should quelch your emotions. Celebration of success and dissappointment at failure is all a part of life, good and bad. One wouldn't be complete without the other. There's a scripture somewhere that says all things have their opposite, that in fact sadness is necessary in order to feel joy, etc. (I'm too lazy to try and look it up right now.) I guess maybe what this quote really does is show a difference in culture. Maybe for a Chinese monk, that would be the rule, but in America we are about living it up... at least, we try. Carpe Diem or Seize the Day. Or, as my philosophy instructor puts it, "Cherish the day."

Anyway, we should have a fun weekend. More about it next week I guess. Back to economics!