Ethics requires vigilance
Our brilliance is never far from our darkness.
It is in the wilful knowing that we are, but a heartbeat from being the perpetrator that we hold ourselves to a higher order.
It is from this place as well that we find compassion. “I, too, looked into that abyss, and but for another, or my cultural heritage, or a whole sequence of fortunate events, I could have made that choice.”
This, in distinction to righteousness, which is its own form of ethical violation, and one I know well enough.
Be it at the personal, organisational or political level, the agreement to cross the ethical line is often disguised in a seductive voice. It offers us a feast for our longing.
So easy does she tempt us. The siren call.
To have people in our lives who have the courage to call us on our self-deceptions, which is the beginning of all greater deceptions, is essential.
To do this with deliberation, particularly if we are entering into a role of significant influence, is to be wise to our humanity. It is not that we might not trust ourselves; rather, it is that in the realm of busyness and complexity, we might trip into our own unseen darkness.
*originally published March 5th 2019
Photo taken January 25th 2021
