For the three of you that read my blog, I'm still stuck on this ides of consequences that I blogged about the other day. If you want the 1-line summary, it's simply this; we don't like consequences.
But I realize this is not entirely true. I can think of at least two instances when we do.
The first is when other people face consequences. We may not be sadistic about it, but bad people deserve punishment. Right? Murderers should spend time in jail and child molesters should have parts of their body cut off. We may not always say it that way, but we do often talk about fair and unfair, which clearly puts us in the category of people who believe consequences should happen. Just not for us, because we're clearly not as bad as other people and unlike other people, we learn from our mistakes without consequences.
The second is a bit more subtle and involves less of me sounding like a street preacher. (Of course, if the street preacher speaks truth, then what's my problem?) We like consequences when they are good consequences. We do not normally term it this way, which is a problem of semantics. But the fact is that when we do good things, we expect that good will result. We would call it blessings or results, but we live in such a way as to reveal that we want a good cause to lead to a good effect. As long as it is positive. It always has to be positive.
See how this has still been all about us? It may not change our actions, good or bad, but the result will certainly have us accepting the blessings or casting the blame.
But it's not about us.
But I realize this is not entirely true. I can think of at least two instances when we do.
The first is when other people face consequences. We may not be sadistic about it, but bad people deserve punishment. Right? Murderers should spend time in jail and child molesters should have parts of their body cut off. We may not always say it that way, but we do often talk about fair and unfair, which clearly puts us in the category of people who believe consequences should happen. Just not for us, because we're clearly not as bad as other people and unlike other people, we learn from our mistakes without consequences.
The second is a bit more subtle and involves less of me sounding like a street preacher. (Of course, if the street preacher speaks truth, then what's my problem?) We like consequences when they are good consequences. We do not normally term it this way, which is a problem of semantics. But the fact is that when we do good things, we expect that good will result. We would call it blessings or results, but we live in such a way as to reveal that we want a good cause to lead to a good effect. As long as it is positive. It always has to be positive.
See how this has still been all about us? It may not change our actions, good or bad, but the result will certainly have us accepting the blessings or casting the blame.
But it's not about us.
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