BEYOND RIGHT OR WRONG

We are unwilling to question our idea of reality and our perspective of what is right or wrong because oftentimes it gives us a frame for judgment and self-importance.

What we perceive to be right or wrong gives us a rule book for scoring the world and the people around us. Our myopic reality and worldview set the tone for globalized projection—the idea that your perspective is true in all contexts and all cultures. Simply because it is a reality we relate with.

Now, that I write it that way, it’s easy to feign denial; resist the possibility of this fallacy, and shield yourself from the allegation. Which isn’t an allegation in any way but a beckon to live more awake and come into awareness of the distinct difference between reality and our experience with reality. However, this is in no way my goal for writing this essay.

The politics I hope to establish would be an intentional inquiry of codes, creeds, and conduct and how we use these as a standard for measurement of ourselves, others, and the world around us.

Beyond any care for others or the world, the reality of this philosophy is essential to mitigate the risk of self-destruction and to curtail the possibility of making a creed the bane of evolution as opposed to a guideline for personal growth and transformation.

But, here is what we fail to pay attention to—the foundation of what we have come to believe to be right or wrong.

Moral judgments are likely more objective than it is subjective. We are conditioned based on culture, previous knowledge, and past experiences to define right or wrong. The challenge with this conditioning is the failure to question the base of this judgment as well as the resistance to only judge ourselves by our metric (because it is familiar!).

It’s crazy because we would even go as far as finding ways to shove down the throats of others, the correctness of our moral judgment. And, what you’d often find is how much a person is willing to stretch an idea of no significance just to establish a frame to judge others and inflate their ego.

As a rule of thumb, morality has a personal creed. However, our perspective of what is right or wrong can only be universal to the degree that its application causes no contradiction across contexts and cultures.

I believe it critical to consider the possibility of our frame of right or wrong being exaggerated through experience. When there is an occurrence that leads to a bad experience, we are keen to label the idea that surrounds this wrong and the opposite right.

For example; Alex grew up seeing his father treat his mother with dictatorship in the guise of being the man of the house. He doesn’t respect her opinions nor treat her with the dignity of human equality. His father was a religious bigot whose fundamental beliefs around marriage were founded upon extremist cultural and religious perspectives in a bid to protect his ego.

Alex's parents have been married for over 40 years and this dynamic seems to be the secret sauce of lasting marriages in the world compared to others. Alex learns that treating a woman with mutual respect and the dignity of humanity is wrong. He disagrees with any idea that sounds like feminism or women empowerment because what he believes to be right is the subjection and crippling of a woman’s power under his wings. He sees the marriage dynamic as one of a king versus subject never as king versus queen.

Regardless of how many relationships Alex gets into, he is simply into casual sex because his definition of a true wife has to be someone he can exert dominion over.

When asked why, Alex would protect his perspective of what is right with intelligent explanations and supported data that is usually a minuscule fraction of the population.

Alex had learned to attribute the longevity of his parent's marriage to success and the unhealthy patterns as the curriculum for its supposed success.

We are often not aware of how deeply our unquestioned perspectives guide our beliefs and values. And even if we are, it is safer to protect our esteem, integrity, and ego by standing on prejudiced views without trying to see opposing perspectives.

This is a mental red flag. When we safeguard ourselves from alternate perspectives, it’s usually not because we are trying not to get compromised as many think. It’s often because what we have come to believe has become a signage of our integrity and losing that would mean losing what makes us important. We all like to feel important. The frame of our moral judgment offers us this on a platter. Because we can protect our esteem and easily judge others.

Do you know how good it feels to look at someone who doesn’t measure up to the parameters of your morality and shake your head, muttering words under your breath while carrying yourself in a way that suggests superiority?

It feels good. Almost too good to carry yourself as a god, incapable of err and the billboard for impeccable morals.

The challenge with this is not just in the supposed integrity of character but the prison we unconsciously create for ourselves.

No matter how much you safeguard yourself from reality, life will always bring an alternate perspective where new experiences will require you to shift position and change the philosophy of your morality. Usually, because of how ingrained this kind of mental blindness is, we would rather stall our evolution to preserve deep-seated beliefs. We become prisons of our minds and captives of past knowledge; unable to move past critical seasons—simply rearranging our positions.

Imagine a person who has preached for years the importance of sticking to one thing, being known for that, and carving a specific niche. They struggle terribly with sticking to one thing no matter how hard they try. They are multi-dimensional, deeply essential and multi-layered. They are consistently pulled in different directions but unable to make any pivots because, in a bid to communicate the importance of their message, they have criticized others unconsciously. They have judged others without mercy and identified them with foolishness in their hearts.

They would sit at the bridge of transition, thinking they are in a type of season or process where they have only created a gated prison for themselves.

Another example would be any kind or form of judgment or opinion held without question or experience with other cultures.

I guess my point is the grace to evolve. Evolution is metamorphosis—a process from death to life and death again to life again, and the cycle continues. It is proof of growth that your beliefs are changing. It shows education, open mindedness and intelligence. What you used to believe was based on limited data and defined by personal experience or loud views. As you evolve, what you begin to believe becomes clearly defined, questioned and supported with an openness to a change that would constantly happen.

The bane of previous perspective complicates our moral judgments in ways we fail to recognize and are unable to question. While your morality should guide and streamline your experiences and process, it mustn’t become your identity. You must never forget that what you know and believe can change. Only a few things are universal and absolute. Most are not.

You see, with our moral judgment is the desire to build a wall of partners and philosophy sharers. That is, an environment of people—friends, alliances, and politics that share the sentiment of our morals. I find this quite great. However, when you build a wall around yourself, it makes it impossible to see the world around you enough to have a well-informed perspective to establish a belief. And even more importantly, it helps us make it tough to evolve or experience any kind of change. Because those whom you’ve placed around you are those you’ve designed to judge you. That’s why you placed them there in the first place.

I don’t think we realize how difficult it is to stray away from the truth if it is TRUTH indeed. We can stray away from that which is true because of its contextual application but that which is truth? Is true for every context. It is life for every matter and spirit for every energy.

Don’t get it twisted: you must always have that which is true for you. We must engage in personal codes of conduct based on the life of our dreams. The design of your lifestyle must consistently capture the codes of your engagement and the appearance of the process. This is what is called branding in the business world. You have an idea of where you want to get to and integrate the appearance and systems to get you there.

Hence, what we must understand is the personhood of this engagement. That our codes (or branding) are specific to a definite idea and corroborated by a vision we have captured. That is, based on where you see yourself headed or what you’ve designed, you work your way backward to define the creed that would facilitate that image. It becomes in no way a metric for judgment or a universal process for achievement. Rather, it becomes a dietary practice for your evolution.

I believe this to be the problem of modern education. We constantly look to those who are an embodiment of their desired lifestyle, failing to recognize that the attraction we have is likely based on the outcomes they have created not the process or exact vision they may have set out with. In failure, we go out in misguided mentorship to translate their creed, process, values, and design without isolating what they may have envisioned—what their desired lifestyle looked like. Maybe if you did, you may not lust over others' results or processes and simply take a walk to get to where you intend to get to.

The point of that is, that moral judgments beset us. And, it is essential to question our perspective of right and wrong. At the same time, necessary to have our right and wrong based on where we are headed.

Essentially, our moral judgments are often shaped by a complex interplay of personal experiences, cultural influences, and societal norms. It is essential to question and critically evaluate these judgments, recognizing that they are not immutable truths but rather subjective interpretations influenced by context and perspective.

Remember, in a world where you can be anything;

Be GENIUS.

- Faith Ohio