Life's Not Fair

I read a great article in the 'May We Help You?" section of my September O Magazine by Martha Beck.   She used a metaphor of a vending machine as life where virtue was money and happiness was the product.   So if we are always doing the right thing, or being virtuous, then why aren't we happy?  The article suggests it's because we are using the wrong kind of money, erroneously valuing/defining virtue.

My favorite dictionary, Merriman Webster,  defines virtue as:  conformity to a standard of right or 
a particular moral excellence.   I believe that doing the right thing should ALWAYS be in the forefront of our minds.  The big question is whose standard of right?   If I do what is politically correct or what what my religion wants, or what my parents say then I should be happy - right?  But if those standards weigh heavily on my own instincts of what is right or wrong then I will not be happy.  I will be frustrated and get a stomach ache for doing something against my moral beliefs.

Following my gut has gotten me into a couple of tough spots (more than a couple), but in the end, I became a better person.  I felt at peace with my choices.  It isn't easy to stand against those whose 'station' in our lives are rule makers: political,  religious, societal, or in our workplace or families.  But if something isn't right, and your gut is telling you so, you will not be happy if you follow along.

 Believe me, I'm not saying that we should all do our own thing and that all of the rules are wrong.  We are a world of human-ness.  We make mistakes all the time.  Erroneous procedures or rules have been made and some of them have been outgrown or were made to meet the needs of an earlier need in society.  We are all so AFRAID to stand up for what is right.  We are afraid of losing our jobs, of being sued, of making our family mad at us.  We are afraid to confront others.  

It's about change; it's about growing into the person God wants us to be.  Be brave.  Be kind to one another.  Trust yourself and you will be a happier person.

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