Integrity

Yesterday I wrote something about personal integrity. Today I just want to point out that it is extremely important to go against what you think is right, on occasion. Breaking the rules and living outside one’s comfort zone is basically where all of the best stories come from. 

While it is important to do what you think is right, it is equally important to realize that you 1. Aren’t the only person walking on the path, 2. You don’t actually know the right thing, sometimes you’re just guessing, and 3. You have to push the boundaries in order to grow. 

Be a good person, maybe just be the best person dancing on the table at the whiskey bar. You have to live life. Sometimes it’s the right thing to stay home and have a quiet night in so you won’t be tired at work the next day. Sometimes you get a chance to go see your favorite band. Go to the show. Have the time of your life, meet your one true love, make new friends, gather funny stories. Sometimes doing the right thing is the wrong thing to do. Being tired at work is way better than being tired at life. 

We can suffocate ourselves with our own rules. Don’t be so rigid in your plan for yourself that you cut yourself off from the human experience. You don’t control the universe, you’re just a tiny little part of it, and your job is to be happy. 

Happiness is not something you can create entirely on your own. Other people are involved. It’s important to stay true to yourself, sure, but it’s important to be true to the universe and its silly plan for you. Let life happen. 

When we get too caught up in trying to control everything, we become resentful. Life isn’t under control, not for me, not for you, not for anyone. It’s a wonderful tornado that whisks around joy, love, death, confusion, happiness and occasionally a cow. 

We can protect ourselves from the storm, but we can’t avoid it entirely. We shouldn’t, we aren’t living life plugged into the matrix. We are supposed to get hurt, get dirty, test our resolve, empower our friends, and become so powerful that a little spin in the tornado doesn’t take us out entirely. 

So be a good person, be honest, try hard, and then make some mistakes, poor choices and errors in judgement, because those are the stories I want to hear. Stay on the good path, but do some cartwheels, a bit of off-roading, go against traffic and do not obey all of the road signs. The people who put them there don’t even know you. 

“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

George Bernard Shaw