Monday, February 11, 2008
There Is A Difference
I guess some people in this world think that morals and principles = ego. They have nothing to do with ego. When I stand up for what I believe is right, it’s not my ego talking. How many times have we heard someone say, “it’s the principle of the matter”...it’s not ego. Principles are your code of conduct. Ego is that part of you that allows you to think of yourself, usually far too highly.
To say, “these are my principles” is not saying, “I’m better than you.” It’s your belief system.
So tell me, how is it, when I push the shopping cart all the way back to the entrance or to those little collections sites instead of just letting it sit in the middle of the parking lot to become another shopper’s problem, that it’s about my ego and not my principles? I mean, they have employees who come out and round those carts up...so hey, not a big deal, right? What does it matter if it inconveniences someone who may be trying to park where I left the cart.
When I’m in the store, decide I no longer want an item and I bring the item back to where I got it from instead of placing it on some random shelf, how is that about my ego and not my principles? Again, they have employees who will take that back to the shelf it came from..no big deal. I suppose it’s really not a big deal if that item was frozen or refrigerated before being left on some dried goods shelf. Right? Certainly me choosing to do what I think is right instead of what so many others do is all about my ego and not my principles.
When I spill something in the microwave at work and clean that up instead of leaving the mess there for someone else to deal with, as many do, is that really my ego talking instead of my principles?
In none of these examples would I be “showing off” or “making a statement” or thinking, “I’m so much better than everyone else”. In fact, most people won’t even be aware of what I’m doing because they are far too busy concentrating on what they’re doing. These are things done quietly and because I think they are the right thing to do, the right way to live. I’m certainly not making a big fanfare about putting the item back where I found it. “Look at me, everyone, see what I’m doing? See how much better I am than you?” What I’m doing is actually thinking of other people and living by my code of conduct. Ego doesn’t come in to play when I think of other people and how my actions may affect them.
If my friend says she will never take the Lord’s name in vain, is that her ego talking or is it her principles?
A majority of people are deciding to do something that I don’t feel is the right or best thing to do so I am choosing to do something different....(remember your mother saying, “So if everyone decided to jump off of a bridge, would you do it?” She was teaching you to think for yourself and not go along with the herd), is that really my ego talking and not about my principles?
I remember a story about an Italian soldier or worker who was in Iraq. I believe it was a soldier. Anyway, this soldier was captured by insurgents. He was there along with others who were captured. The insurgents told them to say this and that and a whole lot of bullshit...crap that this Italian soldier did not believe in and did not ever do. (Something along the lines of “oh, we’re so sorry, we were wrong, we have seen the evil of our ways, we have now converted...” some horse shit...you know how those insurgents get.) Others broke down and said it. They got shot in the head. This Italian soldier refused to comply. They shot him in the head.
He was standing up for his principles all the way to his death....NOT his ego.
Standing up for what you believe in, even if it’s not popular, even if so many others want to go the other way, is not about ego. If there’s something inside me telling me that to choose what others are choosing is not right within myself, it’s not about ego. It’s my principles talking. Believe it or not, there are people in this world who DO think of others and not just themselves when they make decisions no matter how small or large those decisions may be. It’s not about saying, “You are all wrong and I’m right and apparently I’m the only one here has the guts to fight it out”, it’s about saying, “I will not go along with this because it goes against my principles.”
Principles are what you live by...and you follow those principles regardless if anyone’s watching or not because it is absolutely not about ego.
It’s unbelievable to me that there are people in this world who cannot get that.
