Today

You are what you do today, not what you say you’ll do tomorrow.

Doing the "Right" Thing

Hi Everyone!

I'm just going to jump right in... Whatever happened to doing something because it was the "right" thing to do? These past few weeks I have seen an overabundance of situations where there was a clear-cut choice....go one path and overlook the "right" thing or just throw your shoulders back and do the right thing even though it's not the easiest way.

I have seen the attitude of "Well everyone I see is doing this, so it must not be wrong". Or the "Well, who is really hurt by me not picking up that small piece of paper?".... I think it really comes down to a person's ethics. What is your ethic? 

Ethics aren't all just black and white. I completely understand that there is always, and I mean always, a shade of gray in every situation. And I guess that's the hardest part about doing the right thing. If every situation were black and white then it would be easy, right? 

Maybe not so much for some people...or even MOST people. I can say with absolute certainty that I do not "do the right thing" all the time. I am not sure I know of anyone who does. But do I know people who STRIVE to do the right thing? Absolutely. Do I know people who don't really care about doing the right thing? Oh yeah. And that's another issue. What do you do about those people who never seem to care about whether actions have an impact on anyone else? The ones that just go about their daily lives without wondering if because they make themselves happy, they just might be screwing up someone else's world? How do you deal with these people?

I have had a couple of those kinds of people in the past couple weeks and to tell you the truth it has taken a whole lot of deep breaths and reminding myself that going to jail because I lost my mind with these people was just not worth it!!! As a teacher, I constantly deal with this type of situation. And to be honest, I don't have any clear cut way of dealing with these guys. I think what it comes down to is I thank my lucky stars that most of the time I try to be ethically sound and when I am not I have the good grace to feel bad about it.

Those of you who know me are very aware of the situations I have encountered. And I have had to "check myself before I wrecked myself" SO many times lately that I am actually proud of myself for NOT losing my mind! 

So, what do you REALLY do when someone blatantly sidesteps ethics and common good and knowingly ignores the "right" thing to do? What do you do?

Well, in the several situations I encountered I handled them all differently. One of them, I patiently explained to the parent that while I understand their skating coach is a professional, I, too am a professional. I listed my qualifications for her (three degrees in Music Ed/Musical Theatre/Music Therapy) and left it at that. She didn't "get" it. (I went home and had a Lime-Arita).

The second situation, was the hardest. I just smiled and said I was sorry for her misunderstanding. Left it at that. (Then went home and had another Lime-Arita).

The last situation I felt comfortable enough to call this person out on the, what I thought, was a lapse in judgement. I explained that I thought the "right" thing to do was a different way and why I thought that. I also said she should do what she felt comfortable with. She did not do the "right" thing. (I went home and had my last Lime-Arita).

In all seriousness, we ALL know what the "right" thing to do is. And, you know, it's not always easy to do that. Sometimes it's just easier and less hassle to skate by, do what you need to do and go home. But when we don't do the right thing it takes its toll. Somebody, somewhere knows you took a shortcut. Somebody knows. Whether it's YOU, yourself or another person. And what that does is demean yourself and your existence. I am not saying do what YOU think is right everyone else be damned. Because you have to be flexible and understanding of situations. What's "right" for you may not be "right" for someone else. So, what do you do? 

Think it through. Think about how your actions will affect another person. Think about whether or not you can make a small compromise that might make the situation less difficult. 

"COMPROMISE"...what a fantastic little word that is so often forgotten in this day and age. Don't compromise your core values and ethics. That's not what I'm suggesting. However, if you can compromise WITHOUT compromising yourself and beliefs, why not do it? The energy spent fighting compromise can be directed somewhere else....maybe into something positive and good. Think about it.

By asking people to Do the Right Thing, I know that it's a hard request. I am not asking for perfection. I cannot ask for perfection. That's an impossible task for human beings. But I can ask that you strive to be good. 

Thanks again for reading. As always Stay Healthy, Eat Well, and Be Happy!!

Feel the wonder

As children, we whistle a simple tune 

and feel the wonder. 

As we age, we whistle the simple tune, 

and our wonderment returns.

Listening

Don't put off until tomorrow what you can listen to today!!