Point of Ethics
I found out something interesting about myself yesterday. As I mentioned, the fudge incident was essentially the straw that broke the weekend's back. I was *ticked off yesterday morning, to put it nicely. You ever had one of those days where you just feel like throttling the closest thing to you? That was my morning yesterday. It was kind of one of those weekends.
And just as I am contemplating how dark of a mood I'm in, I get distracted by someone behind me saying "oh, thank you." It is at this point that I realise that I have, instinctively, held the door open for the person a few seconds behind me. I'm not saying I held the door open for someone who was entering directly behind me; this was a gap of time that no one would've faulted me for if I had just kept walking. I do this often, as a gesture of courtesy. And I had just done it, at a moment when my thoughts were running towards *ripping the planet apart in frustration.
It's caused me to start thinking on certain things. Specifically, is it a good thing that I have a capacity for "good deeds" that is automatic, instinctual even? Would it be better if I was consciously choosing to do good things, rather than relegating them to a conditional reflex? Or is the fact that it's grown to a reflex itself show that I've shown a consistent and conscious desire to do good?
Dangit. You see what happens when you throw your roommate's fudge away? ;P
And just as I am contemplating how dark of a mood I'm in, I get distracted by someone behind me saying "oh, thank you." It is at this point that I realise that I have, instinctively, held the door open for the person a few seconds behind me. I'm not saying I held the door open for someone who was entering directly behind me; this was a gap of time that no one would've faulted me for if I had just kept walking. I do this often, as a gesture of courtesy. And I had just done it, at a moment when my thoughts were running towards *ripping the planet apart in frustration.
It's caused me to start thinking on certain things. Specifically, is it a good thing that I have a capacity for "good deeds" that is automatic, instinctual even? Would it be better if I was consciously choosing to do good things, rather than relegating them to a conditional reflex? Or is the fact that it's grown to a reflex itself show that I've shown a consistent and conscious desire to do good?
Dangit. You see what happens when you throw your roommate's fudge away? ;P
posted by Mithrandalf at 9:12 AM
1 Comments:
Well, someone far wiser than I once argued that most of our behavior is habitual, flowing in channels carved by endless, thoughtless repetition. To divert our behavior into new, conscious habits, we have to cut deeper channels in the landscape of our everyday lives than those in which we have lived previously. It's hard work. Be thankful that you have some good habits that don't require diversion :-).
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