Well, actually it is “goal-less” humor. In the movie “Dodgeball,” there is a funny conversation between Kate Veatch (played by Christine Taylor) and Peter La Fleur (played by Vince Vaughn):
Kate: I’m curious, is it strictly apathy? Or do you really not have a goal in life?
Peter: I found that if you have a goal, that you might not reach it. But if you don’t have one, then you are never disappointed. And I gotta to tell you, it feel phenomenal.
Kate: Well, I guess that makes sense…in a really sad way.
Alexander Kjerulf says:
Of course Lance Armstrong sets Peter straight later in the movie:
Peter La Fleur: Uh, actually I decided to quit… Lance.
Lance Armstrong: Quit? You know, once I was thinking of quitting when I was diagnosed with brain, lung and testicular cancer all at the same time. But with the love and support of my friends and family, I got back on the bike and won the Tour de France five times in a row. But I’m sure you have a good reason to quit. So what are you dying of that’s keeping you from the finals?
Peter La Fleur: Right now it feels a little bit like… shame.
Lance Armstrong: Well, I guess if a person never quit when the going got tough, they wouldn’t anything to regret for the rest of their life. Well good luck to you Peter. I’m sure this decision won’t haunt you forever.
Dodgeball has got to be one of the funniest movies ever to come out of Hollywood :o)
Antony Woods says:
“As the Buddha said, it’s normal that while you’re working toward a goal there’s going to be certain amount of dissatisfaction. You’ve got something you want and you’re not there yet. Some people advise that, in order to get rid of that kind of dissatisfaction, you should just lower your standards. Don’t have goals. That’s really selling yourself short, and it’s a very unskillful way of getting rid of that sense of dissatisfaction. The skillful way is to do what has to be done, step by step, to get there, to get what you want. Then the dissatisfaction is replaced, if it’s a proper goal, by peace.â€
http://www.buddhistinformation.com/vows.htm
From: “Vows” by American Buddhist monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Antony Woods says:
“If you’re approaching meditation as a lifetime activity, you’ve got to have goals. You’ve got to want results. Otherwise the whole thing loses focus, and you start wondering why you’re sitting here when you could be sitting out on the beach.â€
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/strengthtraining.html
From: Strength Training for the Mind
By Thanissaro Bhikkhu