The Unreasonable Man or Woman....

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world;
The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.
Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

- George Bernard Shaw

What do you think, do you agree?

I'm actually not so sure that I agree with this quote at all.... It's something I have to think about. I'd love to hear some other comments. Or what other quotes do you like, like the one in this post? Now I need to think.... :)

- Dien Rice

There you go again, Dien! Tempting me to remember fondly one of personal favorite articles.....when you wrote this Shaw quote....I was taken back to last summer when I saw the movie, Chicken Run.

Have you seen it? Mel Gibson's voice is in it (its animated). I went grudgingly, I thought it was a silly way to spend 4.50 for the bargain matinee.....and when I came out I realized that my reasonableness might have kept me from becoming inspired.....

Here is what I saw.....

"Just forget it. There's a one in a million chance we will EVER get
out of this place!" Thus speaks the voice of conventional wisdom.

"Then we still have a chance" speaks inspiration from the depth of
one soul.

The speaking soul is Ginger: a most surprising hero in the form of
the lead Chicken in the movie "Chicken Run". Ginger had a vision.
Every chicken in her coop would be freed. Safe from the possibility
of slaughter. They would not have to be worried about producing mass
quantities of eggs. No longer would they have to stay within the realms of their
fenced in, dirt floored existence. Her vision was for the entire
community. Not just herself. Every chicken.

Her goal appeared impossible. Larger than life. Her previous
attempts were valiant. At times inspired. Nonetheless, they
remained unsuccessful. Stacks of errors in seas of trials. To the
average thinker the conventional wisdom rang true.

Thankfully, Ginger held fast to her vision. Just as many
inspirational leaders before her she drew people to her cause. Her
fellow "cellmates" aligned themselves with her cause by using their
giftedness. Together, they crafted a future that at one time
seemed nothing more than a pipedream of an "unreasonable"
leader.

Robert Anson Heinlein, author of Stranger in a Strange Land
reminds us of Ginger's lesson in quoting George Bernard Shaw
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world:
the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to
himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
Continuing to approach the world from the perspective of an
unreasonable person requires having the courage to go against
the flow of convention.

For Ginger, as long as there was any flicker of hope no matter how
dim, there was still a reason to continue to seek the solution. Even
with the odds at a million to one, the one was still there calling
her name.

Inspirational wisdom brought out the collective genius in the
chicken coop. Conventional wisdom sought to squelch it.

What brand of wisdom do you listen to most often? Are you
allowing yourself to settle for second rate repeatedly? Or are
you hearing the call of inspirational wisdom?

Is your answer a resounding "Yes!"?

Ginger, like French Playwright Jean Anouilh, knew what it meant
"To say yes, you have to sweat and roll up your sleeves and
plunge both hands into life up to the elbows. It's easy to say no,
even if it means dying."

Say Yes. Its a one in a million chance. Yes!

****

As Always, With Purpose and Passion,

JULIE JORDAN SCOTT


5passions

> "The reasonable man adapts himself to
> the world;
> The unreasonable man persists in trying to
> adapt the world to himself.
> Therefore all progress depends on the
> unreasonable man."

> - George Bernard Shaw What do you think, do
> you agree?

It depends on what is meant by the word Adapt.

Man progresses because he adapts to what the world throws at him. It's cold so he makes clothes instead of trying to make the world get warm.

He wants to cross a river so adapts by learning to swim or building a vessel, not making the river go away.

Building a vessel and swimming are too time intensive so he adapts more and builds a bridge.

Thanks for your time.

Michael Ross.

Hi Julie!

> There you go again, Dien! Tempting me to
> remember fondly one of personal favorite
> articles.....

It's nice to be the tempter, since I'm often the temptee! ;)

Is temptee a word.... I'm not sure....

Shakespeare made up his own words -- he was being unreasonable!

I found a list of words which Shakespeare made up.... Apparently, he made up over 1700 words! Words like advertising, amazement, arouse, bedroom, blushing, champion, courtship.... (and many more) -- all invented by Shakespeare!

Hmmm.... I guess that helps to show the value of being unreasonable!

But I've gone off on a tangent (again).... :)

> when you wrote this Shaw
> quote....I was taken back to last summer
> when I saw the movie, Chicken Run.

> Have you seen it?

YES! It's a great movie!

> Mel Gibson's voice is in
> it (its animated). I went grudgingly, I
> thought it was a silly way to spend 4.50 for
> the bargain matinee.....and when I came out
> I realized that my reasonableness might have
> kept me from becoming inspired.....

> Here is what I saw.....

Thanks Julie! I LOVED Chicken Run! I thought it was hilarious and also inspiring too!

You're right about Ginger, she's a real unreasonable chicken, yet they wouldn't have flown the coop if it wasn't for her unreasonableness....

I LOVE this example, Julie! Thank you for sharing it (and for bringing up some happy memories).... :)

It's a wonderful film! :)

> Ginger, like French Playwright Jean Anouilh,
> knew what it meant
> "To say yes, you have to sweat and roll
> up your sleeves and
> plunge both hands into life up to the
> elbows. It's easy to say no,
> even if it means dying."

> Say Yes. Its a one in a million chance. Yes!

YES, Julie, thank you!

I loved what you wrote, it was SO VERY true!

Hmmm.... Chicken Run could be seen as a metaphor for life....

We often are locked up in a chicken coop, which could represent whatever it is we feel TRAPPED in! Being trapped like this could mean certain death!

Yet, it takes courage and dogged persistence to find a way out of the coop.... BUT if you stick with it, and don't give up, then you CAN escape! Just like Ginger and her friends were able to, to find chicken paradise.... :)

Hmmm.... I think I understand Chicken Run now.... It was a film about the keys to success!

Thanks Julie, I LOVED your post! :)

- Dien

Hi Michael,

> It depends on what is meant by the word
> Adapt.

> Man progresses because he adapts to what the
> world throws at him. It's cold so he makes
> clothes instead of trying to make the world
> get warm.

> He wants to cross a river so adapts by
> learning to swim or building a vessel, not
> making the river go away.

> Building a vessel and swimming are too time
> intensive so he adapts more and builds a
> bridge.

Thanks for your explanation, it does ring true....

Well, after reading your post and Julie's, I guess I gotta agree.... Progress does seem to occur due to the UNREASONABLE person (man or woman)....

I guess being unreasonable pushes people out of their normal modes of thinking -- their LAZY modes of thinking -- and pushes them on to new realizations and insights, which can change your life....

I guess at some stage, someone's gotta say, "doing things this way seems silly," and do something about it! And that can change and alter things....

Hmmm.... very clarifying post, Michael, thank you....

Society pressures us to be reasonable.... Yet it is those who are unreasonable who push society further along with benefits for everybody!

So I propose a toast.... Here's to unreasonableness! (Clink!)

- Dien