The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur

April 22Right to Do

From a healthy union of Affection and Thought flows Energy. When we do love to do that which we perceive it right to do, we cannot otherwise than embody it in earnest action. This is moral beauty.

Lydia Maria Child—“What Is Beauty?” (1843)

Today's reading could be a trap. To argue that moral beauty is to love to do what is right potentially suggests that someone other than yourself possesses the master list of what is right. It's the typical “they say” trick. Who are “they,” anyway?

If you think about it, where do we get our sense of right and wrong? Initially we are taught by parents and teachers, and through experience and self-examination, we begin to develop our unique set of rules. Sure, some things are common sense, but some are simply socially nuanced.

To avoid this trap, you have to concede that ethics are up for interpretation—yours. You get to decide what moral beauty is.

It's an awesome responsibility and it comes with consequences, but if you are to love to do that which you perceive is right to do, then you have to be willing to be the author of your rule book.

Challenge Question

1. What is one experience in life that taught you a lesson about what was right for you?