Do The Right Thing

(Hero of the Day - Metallica When life is rough I like to slip into comfortable clothes, this video fits that)

Do The Right Thing. That is what our parents told us and what we in turn teach our children. Do the Right Thing. I remember being a little boy and listening to my father explain that I would know what was right and what was wrong by how I felt. It was simple, it was effective and for a little boy it worked.

As I grew older I learned that sometimes the simple words my father had taught me weren't always easily applied. Sometimes you encountered situations in which you couldn't identify what the right thing was. I watched as some people used the ambiguity to make excuses for their actions.

Sometimes I was smart enough to recognize the slippery path for what it was and sometimes I wasn't. I won't claim to have always landed on the right side and I won't say that I always ended up on the wrong side either. I am a "road not taken" kind of person. More on that later.

I started this post by searching YouTube for the video to Sirius by the Alan Parson's Project  and got sidetracked watching the video to Don't Answer Me. I kind of like it. I like Sirius too but for different reasons.

Some people will recognize Sirius as the opening music that the Chicago Bulls used with Michael Jordan. I will always be a Laker fan first, but it is hard not to appreciate the majesty that Jordan brought. The things that he could do on the court were amazing.

I am in a funny place right now, standing at a crossroads in which I am unsure of what path to take. It truly is a situation in which you can't say with certainty what the right or wrong thing to do is. I am not gifted with any sort of clairvoyance or prescience that allows me to look into the future. All I know is that what lies in front of me will be challenging.

And when I am faced with a challenge I look to various things to help boost my confidence, that is kind of where Sirius comes in. That is why you'll find me watching clips or Gladiator or Rocky. Is it campy, corny and goofy?

Sure, without a doubt. But that is ok because when life gets to be tough we have to find our happy place and take refuge there. I may be 40, but the boy that I was still lives inside me. I can still watch these movies and get pumped up. I can still find something that speaks to me and right now I need that.

I need that ounce of hope, the glimmer of sunshine. I need it because doing the right thing isn't clear. The decisions that I have to make aren't based upon good or bad, black and white, evil or right. They are right off of the chess board.

I have to look at each one individually and try to determine what will happen by making them. Will it cause the whole house of cards to come tumbling down or will it make it stronger. I half expect Monty Hall to come walking out into my living room and give me the option of choosing between what is behind door number one or taking what is inside the box.

I want to do the right thing. I want to make the right choices. I just wish that it was as simple as just listening to that voice that dad told me was inside.