"What Are the "Shoulds" in LIfe?"

"The human brain has 100 billion neurons, each neuron connected to 10 thousand other neurons. Sitting on your shoulders is the most complicated object in the known universe." - Michio_Kaku

     When I was a kid, Mom insisted that that I go to confirmation classes at our church so I would fully understand and appreciate the Presbyterian religion.  She was confident  that I would learn all of the "shoulds" and "should nots" of life.  Altruistic as it may have been, the "shoulds" and "should nots" are not realized in bible school but in our day to day interactions.    

     Over the course of those weeks, I suppose I learned how to behave, how to "be" a better person.  What I did not learn was to how to cope with those who refused to learn those lessons as well.  That, I had to fretfully learn through the decades.  "Should I walk over to that mother screaming and shaking her three year old "to behave?""  "Should I confront the person I know is blantantly lying to me?"  "Should I lie to not hurt a person's feelings?"  Or, "Is truth always the way to freeing oneself from inevitable personal hurt?" When we feel compelled to use our "shoulds," we should be careful that the those on the receiving end appreciate the sacrifices.  To further explore this, I'd like to incorporate a few "should nots" into the mix for a small piece of sanity.  They are the following:

• We should NOT hide our weaknesses but instead wear them like a badge of honor.  This makes us less vulnerable believe it or not.
• We should NOT turn away from those who offer help.  We should NOT turn our backs to those who need OUR help.
• We should NOT be critical if we in fact can't accept criticism in return. 
• We should NOT betray a person's trust. 
• We should NOT forget to be grateful.
• We should NOT ignore or forget those who have and do love us even when our most important relationships are challenged.  We should NOT forget those who have supported our efforts without asking for anything in return.
• We should NOT love money more than ourselves or our loved ones.
• Finally, at the risk of being over-zealous, we should NOT respect others more than we respect ourselves.  Peace of mind, health come first. 

     These may sound like the roots of those old bible study days but literally, within the very fiber of our being, we know what the right thing is.  We know when we are treading on the thin ice of morality.  The trick is, is to face it and stop ourselves before any damage is done.