You Are What You Do

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I was doing research for an article on Chinese Proverbs when I came across a couple of writings by Madame Chiang Kai-Shek.  I got so lost in her wisdom that I forgot about the article.

Below is a sample of what sidetracked my proverb-ial pursuit:

“You Are What You Do”  by Madame Chiang Kai-Shek

If the past has taught us anything it is that every cause brings its effect, every action has a consequence.  This thought, in my opinion, is the moral foundation of the universe; it applies equally in this world and the next.

We Chinese have a saying:  “If a man plants melons he will reap melons; if he sows beans, he will reap beans.”  And this is true of every man’s life; good begets good, and evil leads to evil.

True enough, the sun shines on the saint and the sinner alike, and too often it seems that the wicked wax and prosper.  But we can say with certitude that, with the individual as with the nation, the flouishing of the wicked is an illusion, for, unceasingly, life keeps books on us all.

In the end, we are all the sum total of our actions.  Character cannot be counterfeited, nor can it be put on and cast off as if it were a garment to meet the whim of the moment.  Like the markings on wood which are ingrained in the very heart of the tree, character requires time and nurture for growth and development.

Thus also, day by day, we write our own destiny; for inexorably we become what we do.  This, I believe, is the supreme logic and the law of life.

 Talk about proverbial wisdom.