I visited Blue Witch’s blog tonight and came across this quote by Anthony Trollope:
“And above all things, never think that you’re not good enough yourself. A man should never think that. My belief is that in life people will take you at your own reckoning.”
I was taken by the last sentence, and asked Dear Husband if he agreed with Trollope. Without hesitation, he said yes.
We didn’t discuss it any further, but it’s been lurking in the back of my mind. It seems to me that the average person behaves as he perceives himself. I agree with Trollope’s advice, but I think his caution should have been not to let others color your opinion of yourself.
I know a number of people who describe themselves as “blue-collar” workers, or “grunts,” or even “mushrooms.” “Peons,” “serfs,” general dog’s-bodies”…..there are all sorts of names, most of which are not fit for polite company, that are used to identify people who are not in a position of power. Generally, those terms are negative in connotation. How does a person who has been labled with one of these terms preserve a positive view of himself?
I am one of those people who believes that you can be a success at any job. While money is nice, it isn’t everything. The quality of your work, and your commitment to your work is more important to me, whether you are a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, or the man running carts at the local grocery store.
Usually the person who makes less money is thought of in more negative terms. Money frequently equates to power and status. In our material age, how do you disregard class attitude to live a happy life? If you have to work at a job you don’t care for to be able to put food on the table, how does that affect your sense of self?
I don’t have the answers, just the questions. Here’s one more. Do you suppose Trollope was contemplating Will Shakespeare, who said: “This above all: to thine own self be true…” ?

I steeled myself tonight, and admitted a long time aversion. Dear Husband was watching a show about dirty jobs. I asked, “WHY, do you enjoy that.” He said it was because it was about jobs that he wouldn’t want to do. “So WHY do you watch it?”
I never did get a good answer.
DH will watch virtually anything science. He loves the programs that guess about the creation of the universe, or about probes and satellites we’ve sent into outer space. He likes archeology, and geology, and those goofy programs where college kids are given a bag of parts or limitations and told to go forth and create the winning machine.
He LOVES old WWII movies. We tuned in to one where they were landing planes on an aircraft carrier, with Robert Taylor and Walter Pigeon. We’ve seen enough of these movies to be able to write one, so I started calling out the possibilities…..his tire is going to fall off on landing, he’s going to overshoot the mark and hit the other planes, he’s going to hit the tower, he’s going to go over the edge into the drink. And finally…..the SHARKS will get him.
I am sick unto death about SHARK SHOWS!! We ALL know how dangerous sharks are, yet there must easily be 24 documentaries showing a photographer being slooooowwwwly lowered into the water in a cage while some jerk drops shark bait around him. It’s no surprise the shark tries to chew through the cage to get at the man photographing him. Men seem to be fixated on sharks and their danger, and I have to tell you ladies and gentlemen, I have an aversion to shark shows!
I can deal with the science shows, and I’ll sit through all the WWII movies, but we’ve seen our last shark show.
Buffy’s Blacklist
1. SHARK SHOWS!