Here are some of the things I have been taught:
Do not lie.
Love one another.
Do Unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Share and Share alike.
Judge not least you be judged.
All these are wonderful things to be taught aren’t they? In practice, in everyday life what actually ends up being practiced is more like:
Do not lie, unless the truth might get you in trouble.
Love one another, unless they are different than us or think differently than us.
Do unto others unless they might do unto you.
Share and share alike, unless it seems like there will not be enough for me.
I don’t judge unless the situation demands it.
Where the heck did this qualifier “unless” come along? And where did that qualifier (unless) get to be accepted as natural and expected in our lives?
Now I am not getting up on some high-horse and claiming moral superiority, I too have found myself falling into the belief that my judgement was not judgement because, after all, I do see your life more clearly than you do, so it’s OK, and I cannot claim to have loved others every time, nor will I claim to not have lied, or as I prefer to phrase it, “adjusted the perception.” Yes, I have been guilty of not doing what I have been taught. What really counts is that as we travel the road to IN-powerment we want to look at these aspects of our lives just as we review how we think. I am not here to point fingers, just to help open our eyes together.
Read It’s All About Me for a deeper understanding.
