Ecosymbolism Philosophy & Merit

The Sixth Movement of the Dance

We have chosen to participate.

But participation alone is not enough.

What we do matters, and how well we learn to do it matters.

This is where merit enters the Dance.

The Orchestra

Imagine humanity as an orchestra.

Many people may want to play an instrument. They may study, practice and dream of eventually performing the concerto.

But when the moment comes to choose the soloist, not everyone is equally prepared.

Someone has practiced longer.

Someone has listened more carefully.

Someone has learned from mistakes, accepted correction, developed technique and demonstrated the ability to perform.

That position should be earned through merit.

Competition, at its best, does not exist simply to defeat another person. It gives us a measure against which we can challenge ourselves, improve our abilities and discover what we are capable of becoming.

Everyone Has a Function

Not being selected to play the concerto does not mean that we have no value.

The soloist needs the orchestra.

The orchestra needs the conductor.

The performance requires people behind the scenes.

And even the spectator has a function.

Music without ears willing to hear it has little purpose.

Art without eyes willing to see, question, learn from or admire it loses its echo.

The listener receives something and carries something away.

Perhaps that person will remember it.

Perhaps discuss it.

Perhaps be inspired by it.

Perhaps create something entirely different because of it.

The echo continues.

Merit Is Not Superiority

Merit should not become arrogance.

To know more about one subject does not make someone superior in every subject.

The great musician may know little about engineering.

The engineer may know little about medicine.

The scientist may learn something unexpected from the artist.

Knowledge and ability exist in different forms.

Those who have developed greater knowledge or ability in a particular field can guide those who are still learning.

And tomorrow, the roles may be reversed.

We remain both teachers and students throughout life.

Competition and Cooperation

Competition and cooperation are not necessarily enemies.

Competition can encourage us to improve.

Cooperation allows what we learn to become part of something larger.

The orchestra contains both.

Each musician must develop individual ability, but the music succeeds only when those abilities learn to work together.

If everyone insists upon playing the solo at the same time, there is no concerto.

There is only noise.

Merit Requires Work

Talent may open a door.

It does not complete the journey.

Merit develops through effort, discipline, observation, correction, persistence and experience.

We fail.

We learn.

We practice.

We improve.

We may fail again.

The objective is not perfection.

Perfection can become another prison.

The objective is to continue developing what we are capable of contributing.

Time Reveals

Claims are easy.

Results are more difficult.

Over time, actions reveal something about our knowledge, our discipline, our intentions and the consequences of what we create.

This is why merit cannot exist only in what we say about ourselves.

It must eventually encounter reality.

Time has a way of revealing substance.

The Best We Can Become

We do not all need to play the same instrument.

We do not all need to become the soloist.

We do not even need to remain with the same instrument throughout our lives.

But whatever role we undertake, we should try to understand it, develop it and perform it with responsibility.

Merit does not ask us to be perfect.

It asks us to strive.

To learn.

To practice.

To listen.

To correct.

To improve.

And when we acquire knowledge or ability, to allow it to become useful beyond ourselves.

Because the purpose of becoming better is not merely to stand above someone else.

It is to have something better to contribute.

We each play a different part.

But whatever part we choose to play,

we should try to play it well.