topher's Statement of Purpose and Principles
I'm not a person who cares much for summaries or labels. I prefer to know the whole of something, rather than some abstraction of it. Of course, none of us will ever truly know the whole of anything. We can always scratch one layer deeper and find something hidden that is richer, more vibrant, and probably more confusing than the layer above. This is the simple way of things—which is itself a generalization that scares me. But to the extent that I abhor summaries, labels, and generalizations, they are not entirely without utility. We simply have to be careful when and how we use them. Otherwise we encourage intellectual and emotional laziness.
I bring this up because lately I've been pondering life and the living of it quite a bit. I think that on occasions in our lives we return to assessing where we're at, how we got there, where we're going, and how we'll get there. This can happen when big events transpire, or on the third Tuesday of every month. Either way, it dawned on me recently that I throw out a lot of "advice" on this website and I've never really stated where that advice comes from. I encourage people to take chances and have never really stated why I feel this is important. I've never set forth any basis upon which I do these things. I've never really stated my mission, purpose, or principles. Therefore, I shall violate my own sensibilities about summaries and, for what it may be worth, provide the world with topher's Statement of Purpose and Principles . This describes where I come from, where I'm going, and how I'll get there in severely abstract, but sincere, terms.
topher's Statement of Purpose and Principles
Early in life I found splendor in discovery. The feeling has never left me. I love to discover new feelings, new ideas, new places, new understanding, and new people. I believe that when our lives have run their course, we are but the sum of our experiences and the impact we've had on the lives of others. All else is for naught.
Therefore:
I shall, at risk of failure and loss, seek fun, seek wisdom, and seek companionship. I shall never consider these pursuits a zero-sum endeavor. This is to say: that I succeed should never require that another fail; that I gain should never require that another lose. Together we shall find more new feelings, more new ideas, more new places, and more new understanding than ever I could alone.
Life is short. Know that I will never suffer fools who have not the willingness to help themselves. Helping one's self need involve no more than the desire to try. Be willing to try, and I will suffer greatly on our behalf that we may both find fun, wisdom, and companionship.
So help me happenstance,
Chris 'topher' LaVesser
26 June, 2007