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You can choose to be a sheep or a shepherd.

Riverwolf

Amateur Rambler / Proud Ergi
Premium Member
Leader or follower, but not all of us can choose. Some can, others can't. Some can't help but follow in the footsteps of others, some can't help but lead others around.

Some can be leaders in one sense, but followers in another.

I don't think it's absolute in any sense.
 

1137

Here until I storm off again
Premium Member
It is an interesting statement. However, I am not sure that I, personally, would want to be either. How about a hermit who interacts with the shepard and his sheep? I do not want to mindlessly follow but I also do not want people mindlessly following me, that goes against everything I stand for "religiously".
 

Riverwolf

Amateur Rambler / Proud Ergi
Premium Member
It's why I prefer the leader/follower analogy. Followers aren't necessarily blind(we're all following something or other, in any case), and leaders aren't necessarily aware of any followers.
 

1137

Here until I storm off again
Premium Member
It's why I prefer the leader/follower analogy. Followers aren't necessarily blind(we're all following something or other, in any case), and leaders aren't necessarily aware of any followers.

But that is a whole separate analogy than sheep / shepard .
 

BSM1

What? Me worry?
If you consider this to be an internal choice as opposed to an external choice than you can see that you do have the power to be either. Most of us have very little control over outside forces in our lives, but we all have the ability to choose how we react to those forces. The sheep/shepherd question may not have anything to do with how you interact with others but how you view and respect yourself.
 

Me Myself

Back to my username
You cant choose. You are both a sheep and a shepard. The only thing you can do is know yourself enough to know what you follow and what you teach, and to that, you may choose wisely.
 

Falvlun

Earthbending Lemur
Premium Member
You cant choose. You are both a sheep and a shepard. The only thing you can do is know yourself enough to know what you follow and what you teach, and to that, you may choose wisely.

Exactly. Sometimes we are sheep and sometimes we are shepherds. Wisdom is knowing when which is the most appropriate, both for yourself and the circumstances.
 

Me Myself

Back to my username
Exactly. Sometimes we are sheep and sometimes we are shepherds. Wisdom is knowing when which is the most appropriate, both for yourself and the circumstances.

I agree but I also mean it in a sense that we are all sheeps and sheperds almost all the time. This is because ehat we do always teaches people around us somethi about the world, as little ad it may be.

Little silly examle is how on avarage gettig healthier firends will make you healthier, and getting sad frends will make you more sorrowful. We impact the world around us and we impact the people around us inevitably. This is not a choice but a fact. The only thing we can do is know ourselves the best we can and try the impact to be as good as posible, by being mmindful of what we do and what does the tngs we follow make us better or worst, and how would it be if others followed our example, because in a little way, they do. (And in bigger ways like with kids, well even more so!)
 
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