March 30
I serve you neither from fear of punishment nor from desire for reward, but for your own sake — because you are.
Sayings and prayers handed down by tradition (freely rendered)
Listening mode
I serve you neither from fear of punishment nor from desire for reward, but for your own sake — because you are.
Sometimes someone is glad to see you without your being able to make out any reason. You brought nothing, said little, maybe were even in a bad mood. Still, as you say goodbye, you hear: Lovely that you were here. You hear yourself answering something like "I wasn't good company today", as if the bill still needed correcting.
This reflex gives something away. Recognition you have earned, you know how to handle. You know what it is for and have a sense of how to keep it. An affection that doesn't rest on achievements, by contrast, you can neither work for nor secure. It asks nothing of you either, and precisely for that reason it is hard to accept. You find no point at which you yourself could do anything for it.
The other direction isn't easy to see through either. When you're fond of someone, you can hardly say how much of it depends on their kindness, their wit, the things they make easier for you. Whether anything would remain if all that fell away, you won't find out by thinking about it.
Perhaps only on a day when they bring nothing, say little and are in a bad mood – and you are glad, all the same, that they came.
