Right & Wrong in the Grand Scheme of Things
Your personal interpretation of what is right and what is wrong is a major contributor to determining what it is you want, and also what you’re willing to do to get it.
In his book, The 8th Habit, Stephen Covey finishes one page by asking “But how do you know what’s right or wrong?” The reader must turn the page to end the suspense when Covey concludes, “You just know.”
Your personal interpretation of what is right and what is wrong is a major contributor to determining what it is you want, and also what you’re willing to do to get it.
We often see or hear about people doing things we find unfathomable. How could that country’s president be so cruel to kill thousands of innocent civilians. At some level, he considers that a “right” thing to do. How can so many people grab guns and go shoot up classrooms full of small children? They decided that was “right,” too. How can some politicians lie so effortlessly and fail their constituents so thoroughly and consistently? That fits their definition of what’s “right,” if only that its right for them and their personal interests.
The Grand Scheme of Things
Is there really a “grand scheme of things?”
This is another core, constant conversation. Do you believe in “fate” or “free choice” or maybe a combination of both? If there is a “grand scheme,” exactly whose grand scheme is it? How and when will they let us know what it is? Will they ever?
Which brings us to yet another core question, “What do you believe?”
A pious person, one who believes there is a God, probably also believes there is an afterlife. We continue in some other kind of existence after our earthly death. People who believe this find great comfort in it. But there’s a catch!
True believers in the afterlife also believe that what you do while here in this life impacts where you go in the next one. If you do “right” things, and “good” things, you get to go to a wonderful place of reward. If you do “wrong” or “bad” things, you head in the other direction to eternal pain and suffering. Strong motivator for believers to do what religions tell them are “right” things.
Another school of thought that has evolved into a religion tells us that we must “embrace impermanence.” There’s some logic to this, right? Nothing lasts forever. Everything has a beginning and an end. But the same religion would have us believe in reincarnation. So which is it? Nobody said this would be easy to suss out.
Instead, we are exhorted to “Live in the moment!” “Live in the ‘Now’” But what does that mean?
Living in the Moment
The best answer I have encountered comes from a very unlikely source. First man on the moon Neil Armstrong is widely quoted as saying, “I believe that every human being has a finite number of heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine.”
The point is that we should make every effort to enjoy as many of those heartbeats, as many of our moments as possible while we have them, for someday we won’t have any more.
For the righteous person, this clearly means doing what their religion tells them are “right” things to do to earn their final reward and avoid the hot place.
For the existentialist, who believes that our last heartbeat is truly the last of us, there’s no reward expected to be awaiting. For some, this means the right thing for them to do is whatever they really want to do. Whatever turns them on. Whatever feels good. “What the heck,” they reason, “you can’t take it with you.” For them, “right” translates to whatever is right for them in that particular moment.
The definition of “wrong” adjusts accordingly. To the “non-believer” acts like shoplifting may just not feel “wrong.” “The store can afford it, besides it’s a small thing.” They’re very good at rationalizing.
Going back to Covey’s question about knowing right from wrong, how does an individual navigate between what is right and what is wrong… for them?
At the Crossroads of the Grand Scheme
At some point in our lives, whether actively or just as a matter of course, we make a tacit decision about whether or not we believe there really is a “grand scheme.”
As we’ve discussed, much of that is determined by whether or not we believe there’s a God or an afterlife and, if there is, can we have impact on what becomes of us in that afterlife. If we can, we should definitely outsource our evaluation of “right” and “wrong” to the organized religion we belong to.
There is a Third Group
Beyond the “believers” and “non-believers” there is a third group. These are people who prefer to do what’s right because it feels right… to them. They are raised with the values passed down to them by their parents and other forebears, influenced by their experiences and other people they meet along the way, and shaped by the events of their life. They feel an intrinsic understanding of what they consider to be right and wrong. These are the folks Covey was thinking of when he said, “You just know.”
This group may actually be the predominant one.
For the purposes of this series asking “What Do You Want?” some people may measure each answer based on what they feel is right. Or what their religious leader teaches them is right. Or by what they learned on the mean streets of their home town. Or just what feels good.
“You Can’t Handle the Truth”
In a wonderful moment in a great movie, Tom Cruise hammers Jack Nicholson into submission on the witness stand. After accusing Cruise’s character of being unable to handle the real truth, he blurts it all out. He did it.
For me, though, it translates better into simply not knowing what I don’t know, or perhaps what I’m incapable of comprehending.
My favorite example has to do with the famed “Big Bang,” the unimaginably large explosion that created the Universe.
Created the Universe.
Okay, so I have a problem with that. Namely, where exactly did that Big Bang take place? Before it took place, there was no Universe. So, what was there? And where was that? And who or what set off that Big Bang? Given how very big it was, could it have just happened all by itself?
What Was There, Before There Was?
I’ve distilled this all down to the single question, “What was there, before there was?”
We believe that everything has a beginning and an end, including the Universe itself. But then you have to contend with my question. What was there before the creation of the Universe that hosted the Big Bang? Is it possible that all of existence just goes around and around without beginning or end? How would that work?
Don’t worry, this thinking makes my brain hurt, too. You’re not alone.
And so my answer to this question is “I have no idea.” This is simply beyond my comprehension. I suspect its beyond any person’s comprehension.
So why do I find it comforting?
I reason that if there’s one thing out there that I cannot possibly comprehend, there must be more. For example, how do I explain the intricate design of the human body? All the amazing functions it performs. I’m sorry, I have trouble buying the idea that it just developed from an amoeba. Even given millions of years. In the deepest recesses of my mind, I have to believe that someone or something designed us. And much of the stuff that surrounds us. I don’t know. I really don’t.
But the fact that I cannot comprehend what there was before there was anything makes me hope with optimism that there is also a grand designer of a grand scheme of things that includes grand inventions like you and me.
In the Coming Weeks
In the coming weeks, we’ll explore what it is we want. What do we want to be? What do we want to do? What do we want to have? What do we want to be known for? There are so many. We’ll explore as many as we can.
Exploring means we work together. I’ll share what I’ve thought about how to make each of these decisions, and hope that you’ll take the time and interest to respond with your thoughts about the same. Who knows? Perhaps we’ll figure it all out together….