May 20, 2026- Right from wrong

Out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing and right doing there is a field. I’ll meet you there.

~Rumi

How do we even know right from wrong? We try things out. We get feedback. We measure whether our actions are aligned with our own morality and with societal acceptance. Depending on who is there to witness our actions and who is willing to offer feedback on them, a single act at a single time may be considered right and it may be considered wrong.

Do our actions bring us closer to the best version of ourselves? Would the best version of us make the same choice? This takes us out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing and it settles on our discipline. It shines a light on our ability to align our actions with our intentions.

When we outsource our determination of right and wrong to a jury of our peers, we can lose the important practice of reflecting on our own actions and determining whether those choices are serving us. We may either bend to the will of the people around us or choose to associate only with people who will defer to us.

We may need to buck some trends here and there. We may need to zig when others want us to zag. We may need to do wrong to learn how to do right. We may need to move beyond right or wrong and choose progress, a place where right or wrong has yet to be determined.