worrywort
Well-known member
How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?
Anybody have an answer to this question? It's been bugging me for a long time now, and I thought I'd ask here as there are some very insightful people on this forum.
Here are my confused thoughts on the matter:
At the moment, the best answer seems to me, to be - "more than most". i.e. greatness is relative. If most people walk down 10 roads, while you walk down 100, you'll seem much greater, whereas if most people walk down 1000 roads, your 100 roads will make you seem like a loser! So walking down more roads than most is what will generally earn you the title of being a "true" man or woman.
But then that doesn't seem fair to me because we're not all born equal. Some are born in places where there aren't many roads, while others are born surrounded by many roads. [I'm stretching the metaphor here!] Some are born with access to motor vehicles, others have to walk on foot, etc. So maybe it's more like this; Person A begins with 10 roads and multiplies them to 100 roads. Person B begins with 1000 roads but squanders them and ends up with 500 roads. From the outside Person B's 500 roads may still seem like the greater accomplishment, but surely it's Person A who has truly achieved the greater accomplishment, and deserves the most praise? So maybe it's about taking what we're given and making the most of it, and maybe only we can decide, as individuals, if we've done our best in life or not.
But then, lets say most people multiply their roads by 5 in their lifetimes. Person A's 100 roads, from 10, would make him the greater man. But what if most people multiply their roads by 100 in their lifetimes. Suddenly Person A's performance makes him the loser. So we're back at the start again, searching for a standard. What is the "true" standard that measures a persons worth in life? Is it simply how many roads they've walked down, or is it more to do with how much a person has improved from what they began with?
I have more thoughts but thats enough text for now, so I'll leave you with one last question;
If you were God, and you had the entire human race lined up in front of you on judgement day, how would you rate people?
Anybody have an answer to this question? It's been bugging me for a long time now, and I thought I'd ask here as there are some very insightful people on this forum.
Here are my confused thoughts on the matter:
At the moment, the best answer seems to me, to be - "more than most". i.e. greatness is relative. If most people walk down 10 roads, while you walk down 100, you'll seem much greater, whereas if most people walk down 1000 roads, your 100 roads will make you seem like a loser! So walking down more roads than most is what will generally earn you the title of being a "true" man or woman.
But then that doesn't seem fair to me because we're not all born equal. Some are born in places where there aren't many roads, while others are born surrounded by many roads. [I'm stretching the metaphor here!] Some are born with access to motor vehicles, others have to walk on foot, etc. So maybe it's more like this; Person A begins with 10 roads and multiplies them to 100 roads. Person B begins with 1000 roads but squanders them and ends up with 500 roads. From the outside Person B's 500 roads may still seem like the greater accomplishment, but surely it's Person A who has truly achieved the greater accomplishment, and deserves the most praise? So maybe it's about taking what we're given and making the most of it, and maybe only we can decide, as individuals, if we've done our best in life or not.
But then, lets say most people multiply their roads by 5 in their lifetimes. Person A's 100 roads, from 10, would make him the greater man. But what if most people multiply their roads by 100 in their lifetimes. Suddenly Person A's performance makes him the loser. So we're back at the start again, searching for a standard. What is the "true" standard that measures a persons worth in life? Is it simply how many roads they've walked down, or is it more to do with how much a person has improved from what they began with?
I have more thoughts but thats enough text for now, so I'll leave you with one last question;
If you were God, and you had the entire human race lined up in front of you on judgement day, how would you rate people?
, but I think you're pretty ahead of most. At least judging from your posts, you have a great character and intelligence etc. Don't worry about being great in society measures, just stay the way you are and try to do your best. Such people who are unspoiled by society are rare today!
