Clickety-clack, clickety-clack… What does it mean when you run out of track?
Would it be logical for someone to actively champion the cause of the unborn,
but commit suicide when life becomes unbearable?
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack… We feel the rhythm we catch the beat; it’s a real class act.
Do we only see what we want to see?
We are quick to offer opinions that are sometimes right and more often wrong.
When things come undone, what's the difference one way or the other?
I’m intentionally using onomatopoeia as a launching pad to discuss behaviour modification. One of the methods used to change behavior is to reinforce a desired action with positive feedback. It’s a technique that is essential to human growth and development, but it’s also the exact same method by which we develop bad habits. This article is not about dealing with addictions, nor a five step guideline for “A Better You.” The direction I want to go has more to do with impressionability.
People will tell you that in order to be satisfied you have to “Be Yourself.” Maybe there is a way to determine when you behave like yourself, but if you apply simple logic, the concept is absurd. I agree that there are situations when you feel more or less comfortable, but we will automatically begin to manipulate circumstances for personal gain. It means that we behave in the manner in which we anticipate a beneficial response. The problem is that no-one can do it and maintain equilibrium. We all know people who thrive on the sympathy of others. They don’t realize that they are demanding of it, because they’ve become so adept at making everyone else feel as though they deserve it.
Insanity is defined this way: Discovering the truth, but refusing to be persuaded by it. I think the ability for people to rationalize an incongruity is fascinating. One girl recently made the statement… “My boyfriend treats me the same as my last boyfriend (who abused me). Several weeks later she said. “I definitely made the right choice! I love my boyfriend.” Somewhere along the line her ability to draw a rational conclusion has been lost.
There are those who say that, “It’s easy to point out the short comings of others, but it’s not so easy to deal with your own.” I don’t know if I’m willing to buy into that line of thinking. A more comprehensive evaluation would conclude that identification is easy, but responding in a manner that correctly addresses those areas isn’t. We will always tend to blame someone else for our short falls, rather than find solutions for them.
I’ll leave off with a song by Ben Harper… I just really like it.
"More Than Sorry"
Goodbye hasn't been so good to me
Stepped out into the night
Back against the moon
I saw ten thousand hands with candlelight
We all think that we're right
It's hard to tell
If the night is full of hope or doom
My eyes burn with unshed tears
My body is weak
From so many silent years
Too many people say goodbye
Before they say hello
Step into the morning
And disappear
What more than sorry can i say
What more than sorry can i be
Before our love fades away
What more than sorry
Do you want from me
