Thursday, June 18, 2015

Innocence & Implications

Hello world,

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to do another rushed post like last week, and I will have to come back and edit it. But that's okay, I shall do it.

Anyway, this idea has been brewing in my head for a bit. So here goes:

"This innocence is brilliant, I hope that it will stay."

I feel like the most interesting things happen to me when I'm on the bus, and the best thoughts come to mind when I'm swaying to the rhythm of the potholes...

A young woman pushed a stroller on to the bus, on which I was travelling today. And as she wheeled in that stroller, a little girl, her daughter, came into my view.

She was a darling little thing. Her hands were curled up into little fists clutching the candy her mother had given her. Her cheeks were flushed pink from the wind. Her face was shining with joy and she was just so wide-eyed... *melts into a puddle of awwws*

It was as though she was entirely awestruck with the world around her. She was taking in every detail around her, and unbeknownst to most passengers on that bus, she was studying them very carefully.

Of course, this happy little camper kick-started my brain into motion.

How much of what she was seeing would she remember? What exactly was she picking up? Would one of these actions become a habit for her down the road? Her tiny face was screwed up with concentration and her little brow was furrowed as she looked around the bus.

Before I knew it, I was asking myself...

How many times a day are we observed by others? How many times do our actions impact others to a great extent? Are we ever truly and completely aware of our surroundings? We may be doing something and someone else may look at it and want to do the same thing for whatever reason. If this action was moral, legal and good, we wouldn't have a problem with someone picking up on it. But what if it wasn't good? What if the action we were performing was in fact something we should not have been doing? Whether it be something as small as picking your nose in public (eugh, I know), or quietly shoplifting from a store - it would still be an inappropriate and unacceptable action.

So this means that one should always (in the presence of anyone) act in an acceptable way at all times. How does one determine which actions are acceptable and which aren't, though? Oh this question of social acceptance of norms and morality is never ending. What may seem completely normal to one person, another may find unacceptable. I think my personal rationale is simply this: if I am able to honestly justify my action to myself with no room for guilt, and my action was with a very pure, and good intention - I would not be in the wrong.

But this also made me think of something interesting a friend said the other day: "Are we all born with a conscience? Is the ability to distinguish right from wrong innate within us?"

Mahatma Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

That's all I've got for now. I'll be coming back to this, but for now, the world is going dark on me... *yawn*

Night night.

Hasta la-buh bye!

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