A few thoughts on the last night of a long weekend...

"Am I a bad person?" We seem to be asking ourselves- and each other- this question constantly. I have to admit, this is one of those questions I used to ask myself all the time, and it is among those persistent queries that has yet to be diminished by time. In fact, there now seem to be more people around asking this question on a regular basis than ever before. Are we having trouble finding our moral compass? Is it the age? Maybe, instead, we have particularly high standards for what is right, what we should do, and we feel like bad people when we don't fulfill them? Where is the limit, and what is the source of the confusion? Is this universal across cultures? If we worry so much about being bad people, why not always do what we "should" do. From that angle, it seems like what we "should" do is in constant conflict with what we need to do to preserve important parts of ourselves. Many people use religion as a guide, or tradition- but really it is up to us to decide what is right, which brings up greater questions about the nature of "good". One of my favorite professors in college used to explain to me that it is not selfish to take care of yourself, because if you want to do good in the world, you have to start with yourself, and the rest will fall naturally into place. While it sounds like a selfish outlook, I think that in practice it is valuable advice.