I love it. I also am at peace with the 'mean'. Good luck to your husband. Please tell him this....
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥ ४७ ॥
This is sanskrit...
this is approximately how it sounds in english?
karmaṇy evādhikāras te
mā phaleṣu kadācana
mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr
mā te saṅgo ’stv akarmaṇi
Here is the translation
You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.
PS. a bit further explanation.........
There are three considerations here: prescribed duties, capricious work, and inaction. Prescribed duties are activities enjoined in terms of one’s acquired modes of material nature. Capricious work means actions without the sanction of authority, and inaction means not performing one’s prescribed duties. The Lord advised that Arjuna not be inactive, but that he perform his prescribed duty without being attached to the result. One who is attached to the result of his work is also the cause of the action. Thus he is the enjoyer or sufferer of the result of such actions.
As far as prescribed duties are concerned, they can be fitted into three subdivisions, namely routine work, emergency work and desired activities. Routine work performed as an obligation in terms of the scriptural injunctions, without desire for results, is action in the mode of goodness. Work with results becomes the cause of bondage; therefore such work is not auspicious. Everyone has his proprietary right in regard to prescribed duties, but should act without attachment to the result; such disinterested obligatory duties doubtlessly lead one to the path of liberation.
Arjuna was therefore advised by the Lord to fight as a matter of duty without attachment to the result. His nonparticipation in the battle is another side of attachment. Such attachment never leads one to the path of salvation. Any attachment, positive or negative, is cause for bondage. Inaction is sinful. Therefore, fighting as a matter of duty was the only auspicious path of salvation for Arjuna.
You know that I am an atheist ..........but this is the cornerstone of Hindu philosophy in just a few words.
If you notice, there is no mention of god :) Isn't that ironic?
I looked for an emoji to express my sentiment in response, but there is no such emoji.
Thank you. This may be Hindu philosophy (quite beautiful, and yet with great social significance, I think), but it echoes an ethic I learned very early: Be charitable and be kind without receiving acknowledgement or reward. The reward is in the act.
Another way, which seems far removed, but isn't, I think:
Go pray in a closet, or something like that. Do it, and don't look for praise, or acknowledgement. It is the act itself that matters without the expectation of reward.
I'm just waking up, as you guessed from my stats 😇. This is the best way to start my day....