Can you do the right thing?

Hi there everybody.  I trust you had a nice weekend doing as much or as little as you wanted to do.

I had today's blog entry thought come up today as I was walking to Asda while on my way to get my weekly lunch supplies.  Yes I know its all very random but that is what my blog is essentially all about.  But while the subject is a bit one-sided in that it is you doing the right thing, there's also the other side of it where its more "can you handle having the right thing done to you?".

I would like to think that the vast majority of us are inherently good in that we don't go out of our way to deliberately upset people and we would resist doing something that we know is going to hurt someone.  Sure I'm not just talking about physically as you can hurt someones feelings which, in a way, can be much worse as those "injuries" can take a very long time to heal.

Obviously I'm not saying that we should accept everything that happens to us that we do not like, but sometimes we need to take a step back and evaluate the situation before responding.  Now that can take anything from a few seconds to months.  Normally the former happens from experience, especially if its something that we've done to someone else and now its being done to us (also not talking about karma).  If it is that then we need to remember how difficult it was for us when we did that thing to someone else and how we were feeling when we were doing it.  OK I guess I can put it into a more personal context, relationships.  Have you ever had to tell someone that you don't want to be with them if they're very interested in you? Yes, you could lie to them so you don't have to tell them something they don't want to hear, but isn't true.  But in the long term it would be so much worse.  I suppose we do these things because we don't immediately want to hurt the other person, or "its not a good time", or we just don't know how they're going to react.  Recently I was on a date, she was a really nice person but I just wasn't "feeling it", not even a little bit.  She asked me if I'd like to see her again and I knew I had to say something.  OK I didn't go in like a bulldozer with zero regards for her and say something like "What? You're kidding right", that's just out and out cruelty right there.  Instead I went for something quite a bit more gentler, but deep down I knew that I was about to feed her the proverbial shit sandwich.  As you can imagine, the date lasted only a few more minutes after that and I was feeling terrible.  Not only because of the look on her face and there being a definite atmosphere, but also because I'd also had it done to me, admittedly at the end of another date.  So I have also been at the receiving end of being fed the proverbial sandwich and I found myself trying to stop her from feeling bad as she was really babbling it out.  Hmmm, kinda like what I do in these blog entries.  I'd heard a story where the recipient of the crap sandwich flipped his lid and in no polite terms told the lady that she should have just lied to him...

The meme for today's entry does seem a bit on the heavy handed side doesn't it?  Its not often that it can apply to something we've had to do.  Whether it be helping a friend or facing up to responsibility for past actions (or inaction's), it can apply in any situation and no situation whatsoever.  This world would be a much better place if it was something that we could all do.  It takes guts to admit your failings.  Courage doesn't just come from showing strength, it also comes from showing the world you're fallible and your weaknesses.  Being strong doesn't just mean doing it all yourself, its also admitting that sometimes you need help.

So let me leave you with this thought / question...  Can you, as a person, try to do the right thing and essentially forgive those who are also doing what they believe is the right thing but you don't like it?