An interesting article as an offshoot of the new BBC dramatisation of "War and Peace" 1. Keep an open mind One of Tolstoy's greatest gifts was his ability and willingness to change his mind based on new experiences. The horrific bloodshed he witnessed while fighting in the Crimean War in the 1850s turned him into a lifelong pacifist. In 1857, after seeing a public execution by guillotine in Paris - he never forgot the thump of the severed head as it fell into the box below - he became a convinced opponent of the state and its laws, believing that governments were not only brutal, but essentially served the interests of the rich and powerful. "The State is a conspiracy," he wrote to a friend. "Henceforth, I shall never serve any government anywhere." Tolstoy was on the road to becoming an anarchist. He would be the first to encourage us to question the fundamental beliefs and dogmas we have been brought up with. 2. Practise empathy 3. Make a difference 4. Master the art of simple living 5. Beware your contradictions 6. Become a craftsman 7. Expand your social circle Details of other headings here This quote seems pertinent to the way SO operates. The most essential life lesson to take away from Tolstoy is to follow his lead and recognise that the best way to challenge our assumptions and prejudices, and develop new ways of looking at the world, is to surround ourselves with people whose views and lifestyles differ from our own. In Resurrection, he pointed out that most people - whether they are politicians, businessmen or thieves - "instinctively keep to the circle of those people who share their views of life and their own place in it".
Well I agree about his views on governments that's for sure...and as anyone knows travelling is one of the greatest broaders of the mind IMO...as all of us who have travelled widely and lived and or worked among different nations, we're aware that our views on many things can change constantly... reading of course is a great tool, but one has to read WITH an open mind and be prepared to alter one's views if it makes sense ..but IMO nothing is more of a changeling for the mind than Travel out of our own boundaries, and cultures.
Yes I agree Holly and certainly my recent travels to Asian countries, where the people in general are poor and have precious little are the happiest, and they are the most generous and open in my experience. Their religion plays an integral part of their lives, much more than in the west I feel. Their constant rituals and gifts to their god or gods takes place throughout the day and is not reserved to specific times, they kind of live their religion. Ironically the governments in these countries are the most corrupt of all.
This is interesting for many reasons, not least because it's almost exactly matches the conversations between Pierre Bezukhov and Badzeev in War and Peace when Pierre is exploring all sorts of avenues in his attempt to find the meaning of life. Most of the characters in the novel are based very closely on Tolstoy's own family.