Every single day of our lives we are faced with an immense number of
choices. And each and every one of them usually boils down to a simple
choice between being on the side of the angels or the beasts. Which
are you going to pick? Or did you not even realize what was going on?
Let me explain. Every action we make has an effect on our family,
people around us, society, the world in general. And that effect can
be positive or detrimental - it's usually our choice. And sometimes it
is a difficult choice. We get torn between what we want and what is
good for others; personal satisfaction or magnanimity. Look, no one
said this was going to be easy. And making the decision to be on the
side of angels is often a tough call. But if we want to succeed in
this life - and I measure success by how close we get to generating
that self-satisfaction/happiness/contentment - then we have to
consciously do this. This can be what we dedicate our lives to -
angels and not beasts. If you want to know if you have already made
the choice, just do a quick check of how you feel and how you react if
someone cuts in front of you in a line of traffic in the rush hour. Or
when you're in a big hurry and someone stops to ask you for
directions. Or if you have teenage children and one of them gets into
trouble with the police. Or when you lend a friend money and they fail
to pay it back. Or if your boss calls you a fool in front of the rest
of your colleagues. Or your neighbor's trees start to encroach on your
property. Or, or, or. As I said it is a choice we have to make
everyday, lots of times. And it has to become an conscious choice to
be effective. Now, the problem is that no one is going to tell you
exactly what constitutes an angel or a beast. Here you are going to
have to set your own parameters. But come on, it can't be that
difficult. I think an awful lot of it is self-evident. Does it hurt or
hinder? Are you part of the problem or the solution? Will things get
better or worse if you do certain things? You have to make this choice
for yourself alone. It is your interpretation of what is an angel or
beast that counts. There is no point telling anyone else that they are
on the side of the beasts, as they may have a totally different
definition. What other people do is their choice and they won't thank
you for telling them otherwise. You can of course watch, as an
impassive, objective, observer and think to yourself: "I wouldn't have
done it like that." Or "I think they just chose to be an angel." Or
even, "Gosh, how beastly." But you don't have to say anything.
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