Guilt And Choice

There were people who thought that I was so good that they couldn’t believe I could do anything bad. There were people who thought that I was so bad that they couldn’t believe I could do anything good.

I’ve heard it from both sides, and what I have to say is this. Anything capable of choice can be good or bad. Most people are both.

For a long time I did not see being a good person as an ideal relevant to my life. That is no longer the case. So now that I’ve put my mind toward being a better person, more people are telling me that I am one.

I once knew a woman who did something that she felt guilty about having done, and she was going around saying that she was a bad person. A bad person would not be feeling guilty about what she has done. The people who think that they are bad are people who can’t live up to their own standards. The people who are actually bad don’t have standards. My comment to that woman is that she is whatever person she chooses to be. In particular, she can recognize the wrong that she has done and separate herself from it and then make a determination to continue with rightful conduct.

I’ve had to do this myself. When I was younger I did a number of things that I now realize to have been wrong. I had to own up to having done them.

Rumi wrote, “'Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” In most cases there will be a need for effort in both directions. The people who ignore the world as they focus on working on themselves are often doing the wrong thing. It is valid to work on yourself; it is not valid to ignore the world while you are at it.

I therefore advocate a two-pronged approach. Work on yourself, and also work on the world. Be the best person that you can be and contribute the most that you stand to contribute.

And if you’ve done something you feel guilty about having done, own up to it and make a determination to behave rightfully.