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Today's
Meditation:
I've
been a coward. Much more than I'd like to admit,
actually. There have been many times in my life when
I've known that something was right, but I've taken a
different path for whatever reason. As a kid, I
remember saying hurtful things about other kids because I
was trying to impress someone. A few times when I've
been desperate, I've taken money that didn't really belong
to me. Most of these things happened when I was very
young, but they've stuck with me all through the years.
I don't beat myself up about what I've done--I simply
acknowledge it and hope that the lessons that I've learned
from not doing what was right will stick with me and guide
me through the next decisions that I have to make that may
present me with a similar dilemma--do what's right, or do
what's expedient (or what will make someone else happy, or
will bring gain to me, and on and on).
There's much that could be said about cowardice, but
Confucius' main point here is not cowardice. His
main focus is knowing what is right and not doing
it. Hearing your conscience speak to you and not
following it. Seeing the high road but following the
low road. No matter which words you want to use to
describe it, the bottom line is that our lives are full of
choices between right and wrong, and if we truly want to
make something special of our lives we need to be prepared
always to follow the right, no matter what the
consequences.
I want to avoid being a coward, not because I fear being
called that name, but because I know that cowardice is me
not being the person I'm supposed to be. My sincere
hope in life is that no matter what happens, I'm able to
recognize the right path and follow it, for my sake and
the sakes of everyone else who may be involved in anything
that I do.
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