It's never too late to do the "right" thing

Even this is my opinion!

What is "the right thing"?  Many times over the years, I have heard people say "I want to do the right thing".  But haven't we all seen cases when "the right thing" is not black and white, it could even look like varying colors of gray?  And sometimes, what is right for you will not be right for me, and maybe neither of us really understands what right could be.

I can remember more than one time in my life when I knew what I was doing, how I was living, why I decided things....was definitely....NOT RIGHT.  Yet, I wanted all those things to be right.  But eventually, I acknowledged to myself that I was not living right, so I fixed it.  I changed what I was doing.  But not until it was apparent to me.  It is never too late to do the right thing, once we recognize what it is.  But is right for me, right for you?

In this world, "right" seems to be increasingly fluid.  What used to be right many years ago, is blatantly unacceptable by today's standards.   And I promise you, if I used any type of example, I would get cheers from some and jeers from others.  Not going there.

Let's go to the dictionary for some common ground.  The definition of standard as a noun is "a level of quality or attainment".  So what if I set a goal for myself to become a quality quilter (recent new hobby...stills light years of way from achieving that status).   That does not mean this is now the same standard for everyone.  If I start judging myself ....and perhaps others...on MY standard, I have just overstepped my bounds.  Another use of the word as a noun is "an idea or thing used as a measure, norm, or model in comparative evaluations".  It might be a safe thing to compare wages (there are laws and comparable data) but not attitudes, beliefs or behaviors.  DANGEROUS misstep.

Finally, standard - used as an adjective means "used or accepted as normal or average".  Before going down this road (fraught with hidden dangers), I would pose the question...normal or average as defined by who??  I think you see where I am going with this.  .

Yet there are still some things we can ALL do right.  We can choose to be non-judgmental.  We can ask questions rather than assume we know all the answers.  We can recognize that just because we "feel" something, doesn't make it true (at best, we can offer an opinion; again, which doesn't make us right or wrong....just takes us back to how we "feel").  We can comment on the positive rather than wallow in the negative. We can always error on the side of kindness versus righteousness.

Until next time, before hopping on the "soapbox of life", look for the gray.  I promise you, it is there.

Until next time,
#checkyourself

your pal,
Kari