When No One is Watching

When No One is Watching

When I was a young boy I had several cousins. Often on Sundays we would all be at Grandmas house which was a small 3 room house with no central heat and no running water. As she was preparing meals which she liked to do she would need water. The only water in the house was in a bucket which had to be filled at a nearby house which had running water. Someone had to take the bucket and walk up this long hill and fill it and bring it to Grandma. She would always come to the kitchen door and yell for one of the young’uns to go get some water.

Well you would think she yelled there’s a fire because my cousins would scatter in every direction except to Grandma. I still remember thinking should I run and hide or go get the water. Pls understand I don’t mean to be bragging ( I’ve made my share of mistakes) but I just couldn’t let my 80+ years old 90 lb Grandma stand there needing water. So more times than not I would go get the water for my Grandma. It’s interesting what people will do

When No One is Watching

I can’t say I was happy about it at the time but I just knew the right thing to do was to get the water. Looking back this was an important decision for each of us grandkids which reflected our early thinking/belief about responsibility/accountability. No one was watching so when everyone took off there was no one to blame and no one got caught

When No One Was Watching

But I was there and I’m still here. I knew what was right and wrong. I give my Mom and Dad credit for that but I also believe we’re born with a certain inner sense of what’s right and wrong. We can call it morality or a God-given code of conduct which helps us figure out life. Humans are different this way. We have clear emotional and physical needs which motivate us but we also have a basic instinct which tells us what to do

When No One is Watching

So, it that’s true why do some people do right and some wrong? We start with an inner core set of right values but we quickly adopt values/beliefs which are often in conflict with our North Star. Certainly our parents have a huge influence over what we believe early on especially. Our environment helps to shape us, good and bad. And the consequences of our actions reinforce our beliefs and actions

When No One is Watching

Earl Nightingale calls it the Strangest Secret in the World “We Become What We Think About “. So we move through life with our beliefs developing and we act according to those beliefs. If people have bad beliefs then they act accordingly

When No One is Watching

People will cheat on their taxes, cheat on their spouse, cheat on their employer and many other bad things when they think they won’t get caught. But people also live good and wholesome lives. We just need more good

When No One is Watching

But remember someone Is Watching. People all around us end up knowing who we are and what we stand for. And God Knows! Live your life story so you’d be proud to watch it on TV.