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Women Moving the Edge
July 2009 
Priority of means over ends
Posted on Feb 19th, 2006
by 
yeshe
yeshe
Here's something I have never thought about before, which I have bumped into a few times in recent weeks, and each time it shakes me, because it is so obvious, and so FORGOTTEN! Most recently I ran across it in the handbook accompanying the Be the Change workshop run in November 2005 by Sara Boas and Robert Dilts...
Ends can be beautiful and noble, while the means used to attain them can be cruel, violent and repressive. So the end is lost from sight and in the here and now there is suffering, betrayal, fear and hatred.
So let's remember this and turn the tables: Ghandi used to point out that we always have control over the means, never of the end. "There is an organic connection between means and ends, as between the seed and the tree. By choosing the qualities of our being, now and here, we plant the seed of a future self that embodies those same qualities. This self in turn becomes the co-creator of a culture, a world, in which these qualities can be shared, to grow and flourish."
Let's do it!
Ends can be beautiful and noble, while the means used to attain them can be cruel, violent and repressive. So the end is lost from sight and in the here and now there is suffering, betrayal, fear and hatred.
So let's remember this and turn the tables: Ghandi used to point out that we always have control over the means, never of the end. "There is an organic connection between means and ends, as between the seed and the tree. By choosing the qualities of our being, now and here, we plant the seed of a future self that embodies those same qualities. This self in turn becomes the co-creator of a culture, a world, in which these qualities can be shared, to grow and flourish."
Let's do it!
Access: Public
Very lovely……………thanks for this!
Heidi
I do agree with you to the extent that we should not harm any living being in the process, but does that mean that we should be totally honest with our “enemy” and the “influencers” as we go about our lives?
I think your posts are thought-provoking. The big thing I am working on now is helping prevent horse slaughter in the U.S. Got a bunch of people organized sofar, had some fundraising going in the last few weeks, and am going over to city of Kaufman, Texas with a group of folks to support the city of Kaufman to kick out one of the 3 remaining horse slaughtering plants in the U.S. The meat goes over to Belgium, France, Japan and Mexico as delicacy. Our mustangs and riding horses on a platter. In your experience, who buys horse meat in Belgium? Is that a delicacy?
Looking forward to your posts.
Harmony
Harmony …………….have you spoke with “Shelly” here at Zaadz……..she is an avid horse lover whom I believe is in Texas.
Heidi
Oh yes, they eat “cheval” in Belgium… But seriously, I am curious as to what is different between horses and the other creatures we slaughter and eat? Don’t they deserve a campaign too?
:-)
Helen
Yeshe………this subject “meat eating” has brought up my awareness so much lately here at Zaadz…
I am having an awful time trying not to eat meat.
Heidi
It’s an interesting thing. I was vegetarian for years, without difficulty, because I was so appalled by the suffering inflicted on innocent beasts by our meat-eating greed.
Now I am eating meat more often, so I call myself “flexitarian”. I think it has something to do with a shift in consciousness. I see now that I am coming to terms with the fact that life has this nasty habit of consuming other life in order to live. There’s no way round it.
Which does not mean that we don’t have the choice, as humans, to be a little more gentle about the means we use to the end of prolonging our lives into the next moment. We don’t need to go all the way up the ladder to high sentience. They say that carrots scream when you pull them out of the ground… but fruit drops naturally from the tree. And certainly the cynicism and brutality of our farming and butchering culture cannot be leading us anywhere good.
So I wish you strength in your battle, Heidi. I believe that it’s one we all have to go through in the end.
Hi Helen :-) Lovely post…lovely woman!
My parents decided to be raw food vegans when I was 10, and I’ve been some variety of ‘vegetarian’ since. But it’s more important, imo, to be a conscious shopper than a ‘vegetarian.’ Let’s face it, some people are just not cut out for a light diet and even the Dalaii Lama eats meat! But we can shop with mindfulness and a caring heart and choose products from companies that are more ethically aligned. And don’t forget farmer’s markets and home gardening, where we can more vividly see the ‘means’ with direct connection to both the process and the earth, which oftentimes is left out of the picture when shopping at Costco.
Blessings
Too right, wonderchild! I’m a great one for conscious shopping - and generally mindful eating. When I see what people eat… urgh!
But living in Belgium, where people are not incredibly well up on ethical food - and where even organic stuff is pricey. When you’re feeding as many mouths as i am, you start falling off the end a bit!
Love ya!
H