Coming down the hill

Earlier this week I was coming down the trail from the top of the hill I climb several mornings a week. It was a beautiful walk. These days I usually get to the top of the hill just as the sun is coming up over the top of the world in Laguna. It is often cold but invigorating.

On my way down, I met a man and a woman who greeted me. They had two dogs with them. On the gate to the wilderness area at the end of Dartmoor Street there are two or three signs saying "No Dogs." There is a large sign with five reasons to keep dogs out of the wilderness area. These were not the first people who had dogs with them. I wondered what they thought when they read the signs at the trail head so I asked them: "I'm curious, when you saw the signs that said 'No dogs' what did you think?"

The man said: "It is early. I don't think anyone will catch me."

I said thanks and went on down the hill.

That was an interesting answer. He didn't think anyone would catch him. I guess I am just as guilty as the next guy hoping no State Trooper will see me using my cell phone when I am driving. There are lots of rules and expectations I just hope no one catches me breaking. I wonder what that might mean if we only observed rules when we thought we might get caught.

This attitude is very self-centered. The first question is: "What do I want to do?" After that the question seems to be: "If there are barriers between me and what I want how can I get around those barriers without getting caught?" This sequence of questions led us to where we are today. Without any restraints on getting what I want, when I want it, as long as I don't get caught, we all wind up in a very isolated individual world. And we have wound up in a world that is broken.

Everyone cannot get what they want without considering the consequences of their actions forever. The rules catch up with us. Eventually we get caught. Maybe not by the "dog police" at 7am in the morning, but our actions eventually have consequences we will find uncomfortable. It won't be getting caught. It will be our actions catching up with us.

Isn't that what happened in our economy? We broke it by bending, stretching and then breaking the rules because we thought we wouldn't get caught.

It is time to rediscover how to make choices about what we do based on the highest good of all concerned. And maybe we should include the environment and other creatures in our the "all concerned" part. if managers used this in making decisions about how to treat their people, the satisfaction of the employees would increase. If sales people were looking out for the greater good of their customers rather than just more sales, their sales would actually increase.

The greatest good of all concerned. Who do you include in that list when you are making decisions?