Why it is so hard to do the right thing all the time
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
The saying goes that you show a man a row of shovels and tell him to take his pick ... The problem is that there is a simple answer or course of action, but then there is the OTHER option... what is REALLY meant?? Is it a trick question??
The whole thing boils down to a wonderfully human trait - that of free will. We have been given the ability to decide for ourselves what course of action we wish to take - then we come across "wish"... have we been conditioned to "should.."? I WISH to have the last piece of cake, but I SHOULD give it to the hungry kid lurking near the cake plate. Where are the advantages of having free will? Firstly, if we had never been given it we would never miss it were it to be taken away! It would be so wonderfully simple to have someone else do all the hard work in making decisions for us. It they are right we can praise them, if they are wrong we will have someone else to blame. No pressure. No conceince...?
I must admit that although I get it wrong a great deal of the time, the elation when I get it right makes it all worth while. It is so good to know that by exercising freedom of will, thought and speech I am taking responsibility for my life. There are many on this planet who do not have that privilege. I'm sure that they would love the opportunity to make their own mistakes. ;-)
The whole thing boils down to a wonderfully human trait - that of free will. We have been given the ability to decide for ourselves what course of action we wish to take - then we come across "wish"... have we been conditioned to "should.."? I WISH to have the last piece of cake, but I SHOULD give it to the hungry kid lurking near the cake plate. Where are the advantages of having free will? Firstly, if we had never been given it we would never miss it were it to be taken away! It would be so wonderfully simple to have someone else do all the hard work in making decisions for us. It they are right we can praise them, if they are wrong we will have someone else to blame. No pressure. No conceince...?
I must admit that although I get it wrong a great deal of the time, the elation when I get it right makes it all worth while. It is so good to know that by exercising freedom of will, thought and speech I am taking responsibility for my life. There are many on this planet who do not have that privilege. I'm sure that they would love the opportunity to make their own mistakes. ;-)
