“Your beliefs are your actions. What you say is just what you think.”
Good ideas never require force. Good ideas never require silence.
There are a lot of people with good intentions doing evil things even in the name of good causes. But the means are the end. If your means require force and silence, then your ends are not as good as you may believe.
Folks quickly pick up slogans and talking points to make things easier. Life is difficult and there are a multitude of choices we have to make. Thinking about morality is not one of those choices folks are typically going to ponder. There is a lot to life to figure out that is more pressing to folks on a daily basis. Folks want to be loved, folks want to be safe, folks want to be comfortable, folks want to feel important. Folks aren’t overly concerned about the morality of their choices, not concerned about the means, as long as their end goals are met.
If you drive on any road in America then you see a whole ends justify the means mentality of folks. Risking the safety of themselves and others on the road for getting to their destination quickly. We see people that knowingly sell products and services that are lacking in quality. We see people that put in the least amount of effort at their job. We see people that do the bare minimum in providing for their family. We see people making any number of poor choices, choosing poor means in order to get to their end. It is a choice we can all make and sometimes all do make.
Reflection on your choices and your day is important to get your means aligned with your end. Whether you meditate or journal or process some other way, reflection on where we are and what choices we made is an important part of growth. We do not get days where we make every choice the correct one. I do not get days where I do not make a poor choice. BUT I do get days where the poor choices are fewer and less impactful. If I eat a Snickers bar is it a poor choice for my nutrition, of course, however, is it making a impact weighted against all the other foods I eat, not so much. BUT the choice is still not the best. And in these cold months, my body wants me to get fat. Your body probably does as well. Sometimes we make the poor choice just like those people out there on the roads, in MLMs, at work, at home. Reflection and responsibility are the place to move forward.
There are plenty of poor choices being made out there in the name of all types of ideas and philosophies. There are plenty of poor choices being made all around. BUT there is plenty of time in the day to pause and react. There is plenty of time to take a breath and then act. There is plenty of time to reflect and refocus. Maybe we can focus on our choices and what they say about who we are and what we value. What are my choices saying about what I value?
