Minimum standards. Society and government set them. We strive to live above them. Those that fall short are either institutionalized, criticized, or empathized with. The standards are clear in some ways, arbitrary in others, your wealth and status in the community determining factors. There is a fine line between crazy and eccentric. And there are the standards we apply to ourselves, the toughest of them all. That is because those standards are truth. Truth in living, and in life are the highest standards. Being honest with ourselves. We can not fool our self. Lies are exposed in the night. When we lie awake in the darkness, they appear. There is no escaping them. Some may choose to drink them away, or medicate them, but they are always there, below the surface. The refusal to face them leads to unhappiness. Happiness can only be achieved in the truth. It doesn't require much self examination to see that.
It is when we try to live within the standards set by others, government or society, that we feel the pressure. By measuring ourselves against those standards we feel inadequate, or worse, superior. Either extreme is to be avoided. The standard we adopt for ourselves is the our truth. We may not know our purpose in life but we do know our standard. We should strive to live within that standard. It is in that realm that we find happiness and contentment. We must strive toward those the goals we set for ourselves to have that peace. The appeasement of others is an illusion. That illusion fades in the darkness. It is not a selfish thing but a necessary one.
I do think that living within the constraints of society and governmental standards are necessary. There must be a standard for good order and discipline. We can't just all do our own thing. Structure is required. That being established, it is not those standards I am talking about. You could call it a moral code. The basis of that code may vary from one to another. Code and conduct, one and the same ? Well, the code drives the conduct, does it not ? So I feel we should examine our conduct and compare it to the code. When our conduct does not fit within our adopted code, we feel unrest. All too often we modify the code to fit the conduct. The justification of our actions should not be an issue. If you find yourself doing that perhaps you need to review the code. I find myself doing just that.
Issues arise when personal codes are in conflict with accepted societal or government codes. What do we do ? Protest, armed conflict or just submit to that authority ? The answer to that can only be found in your personal code. We must all act within those bounds. It seems to me that our society and government has lost some of its' definition. The code is not as clear as it once was. In the interest of fairness and freedom the code has been modified to fit our behaviors. I believe we, as citizens, need to review that code. We need to define it once again. This definition will not please everyone, that is impossible, still the effort should be made. The truth needs to be told. And the truth must be realized one person at a time. Minimum standards ? What are yours ?
It is when we try to live within the standards set by others, government or society, that we feel the pressure. By measuring ourselves against those standards we feel inadequate, or worse, superior. Either extreme is to be avoided. The standard we adopt for ourselves is the our truth. We may not know our purpose in life but we do know our standard. We should strive to live within that standard. It is in that realm that we find happiness and contentment. We must strive toward those the goals we set for ourselves to have that peace. The appeasement of others is an illusion. That illusion fades in the darkness. It is not a selfish thing but a necessary one.
I do think that living within the constraints of society and governmental standards are necessary. There must be a standard for good order and discipline. We can't just all do our own thing. Structure is required. That being established, it is not those standards I am talking about. You could call it a moral code. The basis of that code may vary from one to another. Code and conduct, one and the same ? Well, the code drives the conduct, does it not ? So I feel we should examine our conduct and compare it to the code. When our conduct does not fit within our adopted code, we feel unrest. All too often we modify the code to fit the conduct. The justification of our actions should not be an issue. If you find yourself doing that perhaps you need to review the code. I find myself doing just that.
Issues arise when personal codes are in conflict with accepted societal or government codes. What do we do ? Protest, armed conflict or just submit to that authority ? The answer to that can only be found in your personal code. We must all act within those bounds. It seems to me that our society and government has lost some of its' definition. The code is not as clear as it once was. In the interest of fairness and freedom the code has been modified to fit our behaviors. I believe we, as citizens, need to review that code. We need to define it once again. This definition will not please everyone, that is impossible, still the effort should be made. The truth needs to be told. And the truth must be realized one person at a time. Minimum standards ? What are yours ?
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