Don’t Be a Dick

Daily Meditation #327–1/15/2023

Being a dick is easy.
(Or, well, for many of us)

To drive reckless.
To drink the last can of pop.
To make the disparaging retort to a random jerk in Walmart.
To fly off the stop after someone cut you off.

It’s obviously the selfish thing to do, and we should restrain ourselves.

But sometimes — in the case of the person who is beeping at you in the ATM drivethrough — we have to remember discretion.

Someone may give you all the reasons in the world why you should be an unbelievable jerk to them…

But should you?
Do they “deserve” it?”
Are you so incredibly all knowing of their life as to ascertain a justification enough to be rotten in return?

When revenge is so damned delicious, who would ever choose the bland oatmeal that is discretion?

Well, even though our own nature at times wins out — maybe even a majority of the time — remember:

The highroad will always win out in the long run.

Do your best to live with control and discretion over your impulses to take an eye for an eye…Especially against “dicks!”

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These are distillations from my coming book “YouDaimonia: the Ancient Philosophy of Human Flourishing.”