The idea, “Well, it doesn’t really matter because it’s all going to come out in the end”: That’s one of the most destructive attitudes you can have because it makes you lazy.

"Someone this morning expressed the idea, “Well, it’s all going to come out okay in the end.” And the Buddha questions that: “Will there be an end where it all sort of settles in?” We like to think that the world or the universe has some sort of plan behind it. It’s like a nice novel, all the loose ends get tied up in the end. But when you look at people’s lives: How many people’s lives have their loose ends tied up? How many people’s lives end with a nice, satisfactory, esthetically pleasing closure?

That’s not the way of the world at all. It’s all unfinished business. People stop their work because they get too old, too weak to do it, or they die before it’s done. It’s not that the work ever really gets finished – it’s just that people have to drop it.

Relationships tend to have lots and lots of loose ends that never really get resolved.

And so the idea, “Well, it doesn’t really matter because it’s all going to come out in the end”: That’s one of the most destructive attitudes you can have because it makes you lazy. You don’t pay careful attention to what you’re doing, thinking, “Well, it doesn’t matter, the sun’s going to go nova some day.” But what the sun’s going to do then doesn’t really matter in terms of your life right now. What you’re doing right now really shapes your life, and it’s good to have that attitude firmly established in your mind. Your actions make a difference."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Gratitude, Goodwill & Generosity"

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