Innocence and Indiscretion

I’ll put my cards on the table. My behavior, I admit, tends to vacillate between innocence and just a little indiscretion. For the record, Webster’s New World Thesaurus describes innocence as being, ‘clear conscience, clean hands, honesty’, and ‘integrity. On the other hand, indiscretion is, ‘tactlessness, rashness,’ and ‘carelessness.’

Like most, I try not to be rash in my dealings, though I’m not always successful. Nonetheless, sometimes I am. With that I will be the first to pat myself on the back. I will go to bed pleased, wake up eager to be good, and go about my business with the best of intentions. But before I know it, reality happens and I’m behaving with less than adequate discretion. Yet I wouldn’t be too quick to label myself indiscreet. On the other hand, it is not my place to confidently christen myself a man of integrity. Again, I guess I land somewhere between the two. The job of a pendulum is to swing. The task of a human being is to duck.

In fact, I think the fastest way to know if someone is wicked or wise is to make note of what comes to them naturally. Whether good or bad, people will recognize those habits as empowering (even if only because they make them feel good) and are therefore unlikely to leave them unemployed.

So, there is a Harry Potter film in which a compromised character tells the hero ‘There is no good or evil’. Only power.’ That individual met a gruesome fate. But that is beside the point. ‘Power’ on the other hand is worth looking into. I say that because even though people hope for positive self-empowerment we are naturally drawn toward many indiscretions as if powerless to prevent it. In the end it seems whatever is easiest for a person to do is that thing from which they derive vigor and energy, or in other words, their character, power and purpose. And with this power we influence people and events for better or worse.

So, the trick is to be on our own best behavior. Often that entails steering clear of those who are not behaving properly while refraining from judging them. One day the shoe may be on the other foot. You may fill the role of the tactless person perfectly, and people will dismiss you as such. That is the natural rotation of the earth.

Experience dictates that once these among other perfectly normal habits are ingrained and customary it is pointless to long for the innocence of a child. However, though habits create characters, we should remember that characters can change or improve their habits.

In closing, I think we should acknowledge and plan for human nature. Let’s not just pretend we can be perfectly behaved people some rosy day. But, understanding there is profit in all labor, we should employ ourselves at trying to be better, if only little by little. Perhaps if we can avoid indiscretion in the smaller things more consistently, we might earn our integrity in life’s bigger picture. What do you think?

If you need someone to talk to you can call The Mental Health Hotline at 866-903-3787 or call 988 if you feel like a threat to yourself.