The Necklace

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  “SHE WAS one of those pretty, charming young ladies, born, as if through an error of destiny, into a family of clerks. She had no dowry, no hopes, no means of becoming known, appreciated, loved, and married by a man either rich or distinguished; and she allowed herself to marry a petty clerk in the office of the Board of Education. . . .  She had neither frocks nor jewels, nothing. And she loved only those things. She felt that she was made for them. She had such a desire to please, to be sought after, to be clever, and courted.” —THE NECKLACE Guy de Maupassant    France, 1884 (pic by Grok) Read this short story here:  https://americanliterature.com/author/guy-de-maupassant/short-story/the-necklace

Moral Philosophy: Affectation

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It's an old word, "affectation." We would say simply, "fake." Designed to impress.

Don't put up a false front in what you do, what you say, even how you say it. You were created a certain way to fulfill a specific purpose. Your purpose is not to be artificial. Posing gets you nowhere.

Don't try to be brilliant because you really don't know.
Don't try to be popular because you are not.
Don't try to be magnetic or impose yourself on others.

No two people are alike so there is no need to be like someone else. There is something better, with that in mind. God never intended us to be someone else.

" . . . the first and greatest task of the philosopher is to test and separate appearances, and to act on nothing that is untested." (Epictetus)

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