It's hard to be helpful

It struck me again this morning how difficult it is to be helpful.

Comments and suggestions may be taken as criticism, particularly if they relate to someones core beliefs, values, passions or achievements. And criticism, perceived or actual, often elicits defensive reactions that inhibit further communication and learning.

As a result, it can be difficult to get someone to think about and understand a new or different idea and more so to get them to accept that it is valid or has merit.

I quite like the quote in this post. on PerlMonks. If I understand correctly, this is a quote from Tagakure. I will have to read this to see if it is the true source and if it is generally of the same quality as the quoted passage.

There are recent translations of Tagakure available from Amazon and elsewhere. There is also this version, which purports to be a copy in the public domain. I Don't see it on Guttenburg or Internet Archive, which makes me wonder if it is actually in the public domain. The Wikipedia article also has a link to an on-line copy, though I don't see any statement about copyright there.