New Morality

I have recently been facing some major moral issues in my life. Without going into the boring details, I simply have been confronted with some major decisions and more importantly actions. I hurt two people I care about very badly. Whereas, I always try and set a good example, I truly let my friends down. In doing so I had to face some harsh realities in my life. We all like to be right and get admiration for ourselves and our work. I admittedly went too far, or perhaps not enough in some ways. All I know is that I crossed the line from where something can be overlooked (the oh that is just Larry) to something that made me have to really look inside and exorcise a demon or two. And I really had to go beyond apology in this case.

What makes a person espouse a particular morality or moral code? Is it how we are brought up? What we learn in school or from friends? Sometimes nothing seems to fit and even the golden rule has gotten tarnesihed in our fast paced world. There is a little booklet called The Way to Happiness that has really helped me in this situation and in others. It has helped me confront my evils and yes get happy. Happiness has never been a major goal of mine, the art always comes first. But I have noticed that when I have been unhappy, it is usually when I have done someone wrong. Now we all know an artist has to "suffer for his art." But maybe that is not quite true. Maybe we have to treat others with respect as well as ourselves. Anyway these are my thoughts right now. You can download your own copy of the booklet here: The Way to Happiness. Many Many years ago a wise man named Lao Tzo wrote The Tao or The Way. I beleive this is the modern equivalent and wanted to share it with you.

Knowing what is right or wrong is one of the most important parts of living in a society and to coin a phrase this booklet has show me the way. The Way to Happiness