They Say, Tis A Gift to See Ourselves As Others See Us…

This comic is from XKCD (original page http://xkcd.com/386/), which is done by Randall Munroe as you suspected.

Thank you, Dr. Estes! This is one of those cartoons that can be told as a joke and I have, many times. I'm thrilled to have a copy now. I tried to search for it, but could not figure out what terms would find it. Well done!

*blush*
Oh god. I've done that. Stayed up all night to write a reply to a "wrong" post.
I'll write and I'll write and I'll write some more and THEN.. I realize I should be dignifying my reply with statistics and/or other means of proof so that what I'm saying seems less an opinion than "factual" reporting.
Eight hours later ... My original "little" comment is now pages long. Filled with meaningless numbers (all from government / university / or equally "impressive" sources) that are meant to back my opinion (which, as I said, is my desperate attempt to make it seem as though what I'm saying is less opinion and more, "just the facts, mam").
At the end of it all ...
I re-read the post or blog or whatever it is I'm replying to and realize that no one is going to listen to what I have to say regardless of my "sources" because they already have their opinions formed in cement.
Which is why I had such a severe reaction to their post to begin with ....
I almost always respond in this way to posts that begin with, "all the BLANK in this nation should just LEAVE the country... "
or ..
"All BLANKs are useless bums that we don't need in our wonderful country!"
or...
Well ..you get my drift I think.
I'll read some very bizarre hateful trash on the net and then think by responding with common sense and a good heart, that somehow I'll change this persons mind.
In the end (eight hours later) ... I delete the comment I was going to post, sigh, turn off my cpu and go back to do my ink paintings or go to bed (one of the two).
Ya..."This is important! Someone is WRONG on the internet."
Those people manage to get to me every time and every time I waste hours, delete and sign off.
What is that all about anyways?? LOL
Thank you for the cartoon doc!
I makes me feel a lot less "alone" in my bizarre actions. heeh
Ghosty

From Robert Burns' poem 'To A Louse':

"O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!"

http://quotations.about.com/cs/poemlyrics/a/To_...

amen. . .to this one. . .

here is a cartoon that leaves me with a "how true" much like the one above. . . but first this quote. . .

" When a dog chews a bone, blood oozes, and the dog thinks it is coming from the bone, when it is actually coming from its own injured gums. . .In this way we seek happiness from external things, forgetting that true happiness comes from within.". . . Amma

now for the cartoon. . . .

http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/hsc1361l.jpg

thanks all you good souls. I did, Kelly OConnor go to the link you gracious gave and darn, dont see the guy's name anywhere, so just spelled it both ways in my citation, the spelling of his last name you offered, and one I picked up browser-wise. Thanks for the link too.

GreenDreams H/T to you! Back atcha for wishing aloud in my presence several days ago

Ghostie, I have done that myself in ridiculously long letters to government officials, thinking they really might read common sense material. And then, I leanred finally (and have to remind myself) that most often they essentially want one sentence yes or no, and that my wonderful full length book of a letter absolutely will not be read, no matter how well i present either a polemic or a reasoned moderate view. Your description made me laugh... cheerfully. I would encourage you however, to say your piece anyway and not delete, but perhaps just say it shorter, like whatever you can write from fullest heart in under five minutes, Then send it. Those who will be liefted or interested, will be. Those who are plugged in cement, wont even if its one sentence or 1000. . Since beginning to write for The Moderate Voice and National Catholic Reporter a year and a half ago, and not having blogged before, and being a book author, MAN, that was a hard lesson to learn... and I am still learning it... to make it an article, not a book. To try really hard not to make everything a book. I think I am making progress. I keep try.

Holly, that's the poem, exactly in the headline. Heard it first from an old man from Scotland a million years ago. So charming. Both the man saying it aloud in such a lyric accent, and the poem too

River, that was a funny cartoon of the dog. And one of those bloody proverbs that doesnt play in most 'quote books' where everyone speaks as though their hands have never planted. On another note: Somewhere in all my articles at TMV, I wrote one about wanting to learn to draw so I could do editorial cartooning for TMV, and Joe, our Editor in Chief and Shaun and MvdG and others were really supportive. Well, I have tried, and let's just say I never graduated from 'kinnygarden' no matter how hard I tried. And so now I am just as of this week contemplating putting what amounts to scribbling-drawing with words, up on TMV. We shall see. But DONT hold the presses. lol

dr.e

P.S. regarding your question Ghostie... "Those people manage to get to me every time and every time I waste hours, delete and sign off.
What is that all about anyways?? LOL....."

I think it's a poignant impulse in humans to want to bind wounds wherever they see them, and to not pass on by what one considers an affliction without at least leaving a small lighted candle, if by any chance its little light can be put to good use.

I think it's a natural impulse, to say it another way, when some run to one side of the boat threatening to tip it over completely so that all in some way perish, that something in many human hearts, wants to rush to the opposite side of the boat in order to balance and aright the boat... the boat that is not personal, but carries an entire culture along with all its subcultures

I think it is a natural reaction to want to balance or aright things that have tipped too far to one side or the other. And I would only be concerned if a person never ever felt that desire to amend, heal, help, show, balance, state thoughts that may be useful to someone, instead of foaming screed that only excites the one who dishes it. I think there is also value in people writing comments too, so THEY themselves get a chance to see what they think in the moment about such and such subject. There are other useful things for the good that come from commentary and/or analyses, including humor filled takes.

THis is just my two cent's worth. There is also in most all humans, a will to punish that has to be balanced also. Menninger wrote about it at length. But, that's another story for another time, And, thank you for asking my thoughts.

dr.e