Monday, May 05, 2008

The Work

A recent “This American Life” episode raised an interesting question about the relationship between power, responsibility and accountability.

What if, at the end of our lives, we aren’t judged by our failings? What if the good we’ve done isn’t weighed against the bad? What if, instead, we are judged on the good we could have done, but didn’t?

This compares with another thought I am all to familiar with: the work we have completed is tiny when compared with the work we have left to do.

Someone wise said that first, but I don’t know who. If anyone knows, I would love to learn.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

“What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
--Henry David Thoreau

"Google's a wonderful thing."

--Nicholas Joel Huff

Chadwick said...

Yes, that's probably the quote I was searching for. The intent of Thoreau's line is different from the point I was going for. Hmmm, maybe I *did* invent it!

I'll have to investigate further.