Ten Times One is Ten

I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.

Despite the title, this is not a stab at getting my daughter to love math facts (although I'm open to suggestions), this is my contribution to Poetry Friday via Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909). Mr. Hale was a Unitarian minister in Boston who wrote short stories, the most popular of which is "The Man Without a Country". His short story, "Ten Times One is Ten", quoted above contains an idea that I wrestle with the everyday: "I can do something."

Sadly, I've not yet read anything by Mr. Hale, so I can only comment on what I can gather from biographical sketches that I would not agree with his overall philosophy. He is a fascinating character, nonetheless, and is attributed with saying and doing some pretty interesting things.

Mr. Hale's expression of individual activism inspires me mostly because of the first line: I am only one. That's all I can and must be.

Comments

HaynesBE said…
This little poem gets to the crux of it for me. Someone asked what I thought I was accomplishing by attending the SJ tea party on the 15th, and I had to answer "Probably not much." But then, my one little vote doesn't change the outcome of elections either----and yet, I can not imagine I would not vote because of that. There is something about standing up to be counted, and the physical act of casting my vote which makes my beliefs more concrete, more real, more in-this-world---and that all is good for ME. And Hale is right, it can add up to something that does make a difference--if not for the world, at least for me.
April 24, 2009 at 5:04 PM
Lynne said…
Excellent point, Beth. My actions need to make a difference to me. And they do.
April 25, 2009 at 5:28 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Plainsies, Clapsies

A ball bouncing game from my youth instructed the player to throw the ball up ( plainsies ), throw it up and clap ( clapsies ) throw it up and roll your hands ( roll the ball ) and touch your shoulders ( tabapsies ). In trying to locate the rest of the ball bouncing chant, I found out not only is my “tabapsies” a mondegreen , but also the motion – touching your shoulders – isn’t even the correct movement! You are supposed to clap your hands behind your back and say “ to backsies .”  Yeah. That makes much more sense. Being only slightly deflated by this discovery, I will still share my exciting news.  In an attempt to counteract the stretching of my wrist from doing front squats two days in a row, I pulled out the tabapsies motion this morning.  This, in itself, is not newsworthy.  However, I grabbed both shoulders with all five fingers!!! Again, not exciting unless you know that when I was nine years-old, I broke my left elbow doing a running c...
Read more

Memorizing the Preamble to the Constitution

Image
In preparation for celebrating the 222nd anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States on September 17, 1787, here are a few videos that I hope will inspire you to at least memorize the brief, but powerful Preamble. First, here is my first attempt at video editing with the bare bones Windows Movie Maker (no ability to step through frame by frame with sound, or ability to mark stops before cutting). My daughters are reading the Preamble to the Constitution from the little book I carry in my purse. They can recite it by heart, but it I thought it would be a little different (and a little less exposed) if they did it this way. Let's not even talk about the 20 takes due to laughter. If you knew it as a child, don't worry, it'll come back to you as Barney shows in this video. Finally, a little treat for my sci-fi loving friends. And if memorizing and reciting The Preamble in creative ways leaves you wanting more, you can find out which Founding Father you...
Read more

Why I am an Objectivist

I am a human being who values her life on this earth above all other things. The right and good is that which contributes to my life and the wrong and evil is that which destroys it. Every action I take must pass through the gates of identification before being pursued as a value which I understand will contribute to my life. Happiness is my ultimate goal. I understand the importance of identifying, applying, pursuing, and achieving those values which will contribute to my life, not just in the immediate sense (which every child understands), but in the long-term sense (which develops with experience). This is not to say that I’m really good at always identifying, pursuing, and achieving those values, or that I remain consistent in my applications of them; merely that I had already understood that this selfishness was the key to my happiness when I was relatively young. The importance of the fact that I understood I was responsible for my own happiness can not be overemphasized here. W...
Read more