Sometimes religions can be very dumb. It is the case of my religion – The Catholic Church. In Brazil, we had this case of a young girl who got pregnant and the priest said – no abortion. Why? Because the canons of the Church – without considering the circumstances – denies abortion. So, I would like to know from you when we need to break the rules. Also, if you could elaborate and give me a list of the times when you broke the rules, I would appreciate.
When do we need to break the rules?
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Lynne,
I do not think breaking your own rules is positive. If your rules were not good in the first place and you are changing and developing, then it is acceptable.
But when you are breaking, realy breaking, your own rules then lot of doubts, pain and suffering follows, because rules are yours, not imposed from society, religion, politics or others.
Breaking your own rules means there is mistake either in rules or in your actions, and origin of both is YOU.
Love
Luce
Lynne,
I do not think breaking your own rules is positive. If your rules were not good in the first place and you are changing and developing, then it is acceptabale.
But when you are breaking, realy breaking, your own rules then lot of doubts, pain and suffering follows, because rules are yours, not imposed from society, religion, politics or others.
Breaking your own rules means there is mistake either in rules or in your actions, and origin of both is YOU.
Love
Luce
Borrowing from Santosh.:)..here is the song for the day:
Ebony and Ivory – Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder
hhtp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZtiN6yik
“Ebony and ivory live together in perfect harmony, side by side on my piano keyboard why don’t we?”
Love and peace
Atma Namaste to all!
I need to break the rules everytime that my mind says NO but my heart says YES. The heart’s path is always the best one to me.
Beijo, Paulo!
Kiss, everybody!
Marta
I think rules came about because we do not all evolve at the same rate, or get our aha moments timely. However, they are like a crutch, and if we rely on them instead of using the gift of reason, that muscle will atrophy. Such is the case when people cede power to a religious dogma or political ideology, even when it is hurtful. Such is the case with the Catholic church’s ruling on the young girl’s pregnancy. As with the Nazis in Germany, ideas that seem abhorrent today can take root when societies take a fascistic turn. I believe with Krishnamurti that education should be a leading out. When we are doing our job as teachers, we facilitate the activation of our innate BS detectors. I also believe that good nutrition helps people think more clearly (but that is my bias as a naturopath). I still like the saying from the late 60s, Question Authority. Not that we don’t need some concensus on certain things like traffic lights, and such, but I do believe that people are innately good, and if allowed, will do the right thing if allowed to be in touch with nature.
Dear Paulo,
I have never replied to you before and this is only my second time looking at your blog but please let me say thank you dear sir for your work. Very recently two of your books helped me and held me through some dark days. Veronica and Miss Prym, I will be forever in their debt.
Now, breaking rules, when I was younger I made a point of it whenever possible but then I am a person who requires a feeling of space and freedom to my life to in order to feel whole.Restriction was anathema to me and there were the restrictions on me of being in Catholic school in my life at the time. So for me, getting away with things I was not supposed to do was a kind of salve to the wounds restriction caused in my being. But I hurt no one with my rule breaking, except myself when I got caught.
In the case you gave us of a 9 year old girl being pregnant, clearly a rule had to have been broken in order for that to have happened in the first place. Was that even examined or talked about? That rule being, that no adult should be having sex with a child. It is tragic that the church would then turn around and say that the rule of law that must be followed (no abortion) is one that further puts that child in a position to be victimized. After all, what kinds of choices for a decent life does that bring her? Break that abortion rule I say and give that girl a chance at life. How stupid to save a fetus only to ruin the life of one child already living who will now have to be a mother before her time.
I am a female and I had an abortion at 18 and yes I was raised Catholic. I had no regret for even a second about my choice. If I had not been able to go to college and pursue my ambitions it would not have been a good life for me or the child. I new I would resent my child and my situation and the most compassionate and rational thing I could do was terminate the pregnancy.
Now as an adult, I still try to get away with little things when I can. Things like if it is very very late at night/early morning traffic laws are for me extremely flexible. If there is no one around to see it have I really gone through that red light?
And if I am honest I have to say that there is a part of me that feels rules are for other people and why should I follow them. And I can’t say if that is only coming from a sense of entitlement within myself or if it is also from a feeling that I don’t need some authority imposing itself on me telling me how to live. I think I know what I’m supposed to do. But then without the rules would I be running those red lights whenever I felt like it? Hmmmmm.
Hi Luce,
thanks for answer.
“Is embrio or zygote unborn child ?”
That is the question i tried to answer. Everything have to start somewhere. So there must be a point when we could say this is a child and this is not. I i believe in Bible. So i try to find answer in this book. So i read Luke 1.
“You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.”
“How will this be, Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin? The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you…..”
And i know that Mary was really sure that (zygote, embrio) inside her is Jesus (she was told). Because it was decided before. She was aware of it since the Holy spirit come upon her, not after the child was born. In the same moment of evolution when there are just a cells. But cells that are programmed to be a child. And i believe this is the point when new human life begins. And the abortion is killing this new human life.
“Whose life is more important mother’s or foetus’ ?”
I have no information about the concrete case of the girl mentioned here. But in some post i read something about a 9-year old girl that could die because of problems with pregnancy.
So I will imagine extreme case : Mother and unborn child – without abortion they die both. With abortion – mother could survive.
So how should i look at it without breaking my first answer.
I see two lives. I could save only one, or none. Dilemma of soldiers in war. To take a life is wrong. But when there will be two people in danger of life – i will try to save them both and if i cant then at least one of them……
Is it right to steal food when I’m dying of hunger? It’s not a quite right, but is there any better solution?
Prohibitic rules.. when i believe in that i wrote. I think that is right that church have a rule – “no abortion” – because in 90% of abortion is there no health risk for mother or child. And the “aborted” child’s could have a normal life. Something like X cases when its wrong and X cases when you could abort will never cover all possibilities and will never represent the main idea – protection of life. But in some extreme cases (like i imagine in answer two) – the church should not interferer because we are the ones that are responsible for our decision, and only God should judge us, not the church. “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her..”
So that’s mine opinions…
I think some rules are made to bebroken…i broke the rules when i dindt acept what my parents wanted for me..when i chose my own faith , my religion…. (added by Mobile using Mippin)
Beutyfully said Bare thoughts…
Paulo Coelho is doing good to make us be reflected on the things we do…we often just do things without thinking about it and the consecuences it may be..
Remember it begins with you..
Age……so what’s that all about? I’ve recently experiencing the self limitng around age on internet dating sites…why do I have to set an age frame for a potential date, and the opposite too?
So yes I’m b breaking my own rules here, gettting out of my comfort zone………..anyone else resonate with that?
We need to break the rules if they do not serve us, so long as no o ne else is harmed
wehenever the rules cause human suffering we have to go against them and break them.
Mirjam
We need our own rules, if we really are aware of our Human Rights (sacred and unalienable), because this is freedom. The more we’ll tell people what to do, the more they will forget about their Natural Rights. Religion has no legitimacy if it’s only a matter of making rules, “holy” books and politics. It isn’t the results that are important, it is what we learn about ourselves and God. Saying “NO ABORTION” (or any other) does not sound to me like love or wisdom, but more as a reaction of fear toward a free Human Being.
Nobody knows God better than others.
My first question to this question is whoms rules.
I am probarbly an buddist, so I am following my heart, and never to anything that can harm another person. I thnik that the law of a country is good rules to protect people, in a modern world. The rules of the cristian and the muslim world is also nice, because thay tell us to take care of people and not harm people.
Sometimes I breack rules, because I find them unlogical and unwise, so I use white lies, if I know that they don’t offend anybody.
Peace and love to everybody in this beatyfull earth !
Dearest Paul,you know many of such stuff?Was really entertaining your comment.Thanks a lot
abortion should never be done easily, i agree. and yet there are situations and situations. we are talking here of a 9-year-old girl!! she would have died if nobody took the responsability of making that abortion. she is a child herself not prepared neither physically nor psychologically speaking to carry a child for 40 weeks and then to take care of him. it’s absurd what some of you say here that she shouldn’t have had that abortion, that there’s always a solution, that she took a life ecc.
in this case this was the only solution. otherwise there would have been two lives sacrificed. would that have been the will of God?!
That’s great to hear Luce, and now you made me smile. Smiles all round! :)
Briser les règles de l’entendement est l’ultime maillon à briser si l’on parle de briser les règles. Il n’y a pas d’amour heureux, Dieu, Merci ! Le bonheur tel qu’il est décrit par les Hommes est l’exacte définition de ce que doit être la mort du corps. Briser la première pensée, car c’est souvent celle de la raison, est la première règle à briser. Ensuite si l’on est attentif on sait que l’instinct est salvateur et alors il devient, avec le temps et l’exercice, la première pensée et l’on peut la conserver et la suivre. Faire confiance en son instinct est le seul moyen de ne plus avoir à transgresser les règles, mais de juste Vivre la transgression comme état de vie.
Liisa,
Thank you for your post, it make me smile, in both your posts I re-lived my youth, my doubts and my nowdays beliefs.
So you, even though you do not know me, you brought smile this morning to my face.
Xzap,
Many soulsurching questions and doubts we all have. Here just two :
Is embrio or zygote unborn child ?
Whose life is more important mother’s or foetus’ ?
Love
Luce
P.S. From my previous posts you can read that I am not pro-abortion, only against prohibitic rule !
oh ! what an animated response, rules and brekaing of rules seem close to our being.
thelma – long live lady, acceptance of a fact is the first step towards changing the situation if need be.
rules and decmocracy !
how about brainstroming some rules for rules, what rules should govern the making and periodic review of rules. basic conflict between freedom for an individual and survival of the society should be carfeully addreses.
love
aditya
i think we need to break the rules when our dreams and happiness are at stake. we tend to be selfish when we consider such things.
Muito ampla a pergunta.
Regras são necessárias.Principalmente quando se referem à segurança.
Ao bem estar de um grupo. Quebrá-las muitas vezes pode se tornar
perigoso, um motin, uma rebelião. No entanto, quando de alguma forma
uma regra, de alguma maneira prejudica uma regra principal, segurança, sobrevivencia, bem comum;deve-se ser quebrada.
Já no âmbito moral, fica à critério de cada individuo, pois mesmo que não seguimos uma regra, de certa maneira temos nossa propria regra, não somos alienados…
Dear Paulo,
“When do we need to break the rules?”
Right now Paulo, I have noticed that over the period of time I have been on this blog the topic of “Mental illness” has not been covered “On Your Opinion”…. unless I was absent and unable to reach my P.C. because Orange.fr and the bureaucracy are something out of this world..
Anyhow, let’s not be distracted.
Yeah, as I was saying, I have done the “Send a question to Paulo Coelho” bit on a few occasions. My computer, being the capricious, eccentric type does not seem to be registering how to send the message. It always comes back with the message “Blocked”.
So,my cells’ brain have been working overtime and came up with that idea, which, I wish, I wish, will appeal to you.
Will you be willing to have this request from me as the next “On your Opinion” be discussed for next week, Please?
There are a lot of people on this blog that have made allusion to their “different ways” of looking at life and over the period of time, we have seen presentation of a few known people – painters,musicians, presidents, etc – that appear to have a “penchant” for that type of behavior.
What I am proposing is for example someone like Jessica, who has access to a computer in the Hospital, might be able to contact a few of the doctors and nurses that will be interested in participating in that subject?
There are I have noted also, a few journalists, students and I am sure Psychologists or Psychiatrists, researchers, who knows? that might pop in or out of your Blog Paulo. This time they might be willing to come out into the open and have their say.Wow! that’s great. Please don’t be shy.
What are your thoughts on that?
I gladly participate in it as well…
I am off for now, going to peel my kiwi fruit, plums, and potatoes and reflecting upon that thought.
Thank you so much and keep on smiling everybody.
Love
Muito obrigada , beijos.
P.S. Paul from Austria can you help with the German translation, please?Thanks a million.
Independent of religions or rules,for me, the free will is very important, because if you do the good or the evil, it’s to you that you’re doing it.Before you break a rule, you must foresee the consequences.
I believe that this is not about the “church” at all. The “church” in this cases is only excuse for people who are trying to avoid his responsibility for their wrong decisions.
The whole case is about life. Unborn life that is not only part of woman’s body. When exactly “new human” gain his soul? After born? I which month of pregnancy? Maybe the undeveloped body is unable to live without mother support, but if it have a soul then it is a new entity and nobody, except God, haven’t the right to abort it. Because when you believe in Bible then you break the rule “Do not kill”. Jesus words about harming children are exact. And even the unborn children needs protection. If there is God and have a path for every human, then He have surely path for the unborn child.
I dont know the exact case of girl mentioned here, but globally… Human is not the one who should decide who should live and who not.
The rules was not created by human but by the God… so the church only follow God rules… The problem is in us… because for us is sometimes not comfortable to follow the rules… to take the weight of responsibility of ours wrong decisions… so we look for excuses.. so we look for easier paths…
Jesus sacrifice himself to give us life… He could decide not to take the cross, but then everything would be pointless.. there will be no salvation, no hope… and the god could not be love… but he did it… he did everything to save our lives..to save life of everyone of as even the smaller ones… so we should follow..
Whats the main difference between killing our adult child and unborn child? If you do the first thing then everybody knows that its terribly wrong, but in the second case.. its only wrong rule of some church? We could describe differences in the material part – bodies – but what about their souls? The unborn soul is less than adult soul?
I am not so shure about abortion, although the others like Karen and the other, I forgot the name, gave me the impression, God will forgive, to have let done this to him. I have had an abortion too, but I am still not feeling safety, thinking MAYBE it was God’s will. Or he will forgive me. As I do not know for sure, HOW GOD is, I cannot say this to myself. I will ask myself all my life, if this was right? At this moment, when I let it done to me and this life, I had no doubt, because my feelings were “young” and I am egoistical, and I just wanted to live my life without restrictions.
God’s answer to it was, I never got pregnant again, although I wanted children later on.
I am also convinced life has all over the same value, “sick” or no sick. Who am I to give the value to life? I am not GOOOD.
I wouldn’t be so generous like Him, Her or whatever.
Hello im dont consider myself ery religous ,my parents orce me to me catholicso when i grewp up i made my mind about reliion and i broke some rules ,rules that were established by my parents and my religion having sex before marriage , ot going to the church and other ones……its but i think rules are made to be broken!!! (added by Mobile using Mippin)
…but there are some indications the church accepts abortion. One is when life or health of the mother is in danger – and that is the case I think when she is nine.
The church also allows an abortion when the child will be severely handicapped – and also here it is justified with the shelter of the mothers life.
Rules are made for man not man for rules!
I break rules when I condider them totally senseless or even harmful or when I feel deep down inside they are wrong. In some cases it is not easy at all to make a decision, but I think in the case of abortion e.g. the mother should decide.
My personal list of broken rules:
…whaa, my computer has crashed during copying at number 563!
Pitty, it would have become a real blogbuster! ;-)
I said there earlier that I am not personally bound by rules set by religion.
I wasn’t always like that. As a child I took religion really quite seriously, feeling terribly guilty for what now seems like such silly things.
One night, when I was about 15, I told God that “excuse me, but I’m not…ummm… how to say this…. well.. (yes, it was difficult) …mmm… I’m not exactly sure…. if you’re real.” And once I got that off my chest I instantly became very dizzy, my head was pounding, I felt like I was free falling, and I started crying. There was a storm inside. I felt completely lost and alone in the universe.
To that point I was too afraid to say anything like this, because I thought that what if the world ended tomorrow, and I had just turned my back to God, and now I must go to hell.
But I had to face this fear.
I think it was like a test. What use am I to God, if I only follow him/her out of the fear of getting lost? I had to show myself this was not the case. And it became very clear to me then, that it is okay to use my brains, it is okay to ask questions, it is okay to have doubts, in fact, it is really quite necessary.
I was reading my old diary there the other day and was reminded of this conversation I had with a Jewish man I worked with during my travels. He was telling me how he was feeling very weak and was losing hair, because he wasn’t eating properly. Being a backbacker, he couldn’t afford kosher-meat and his religion forbid other meats, and well I suppose he hadnt done his homework to find out how else to get the protein he needed. What I found highly ironic was that earlier during that same conversation he told me how he had killed six people (suicide bommers), while in the army. He did this to save other people, but still was feeling bad about it, wanting to forget his past. I wanted to ask him if he really thought that his god gave a damn about the way in which his meat was processed, after having killed people. And if so, why would you follow such a god anyway? But I didnt propose these questions. He was a really lovely guy with a good heart, and a great attitude on life. The positive energy around him left no room or necessity for any questions, he was following his path.
—
I personally am not bound by rules set by a religion. And I tend to use the law in a creative way, as long as I’m not causing harm to others or getting into trouble that is not worth it. I suppose as long as we are able to live with clear enough consciousness, we are doing fine. The main rule I try to follow is: Don’t do to your neighbour that which you don’t want them to do to you. And this works in reverse too, DO to your neighbours, friends and even strangers nice things, that bring a smile on their face.
Lovely weekend to all!
I like looking at things from different points of view, and all your comments here do stimulate my mind.
Earlier I said I have a “no-rules rule”, and that free will is probably God’s greatest gift to mankind.
But let’s look at the issue from a different point of view.
When we speak about rules and breaking rules, we tend to imagine that there is someone ready to judge, blame and punish us for doing so.
And when God’s rules are the issue, we tend to feel guilty, if we do something that results as a breach of those rules.
Well, I do not think that God’s rules (I am not talking about religious rules, that – as I have already said – are just made by men, and may be odd or weird at times) are not meant to lead to judgement, or to prevent us from “doing evil”.
Our breaking the rules leaves God untouched, for in His infinite and absolute perfection and – above all – in His infinite and absolute Love, He cannot be touched by anything. No punishment in His plans, otherwise free will would just be an empty word, and so would “forgiveness”.
God’s rules are made to prevent us from hurting ourselves. If we have an abortion, we hurt ourselves first of all, for we will have to live with this terrible pain in our heart everyday of our life.
So, let’s try to look at God’s rules as a helpful support to us, as a protection from pain and from something that may block our growth and joy.
And let’s keep on looking at men’s rules (religious, legal, social) as mere guidelines that have to face the test of our conscience every day.
God bless you all.
Love
Rossana Curri
an example to typify when NOT to break the rules..
the news today reports that “the Olympic Committee has decided that there will be and end to the traditional ‘carrying of the torch around the world’.
this is because the committee was embarrassed by footage seen globally of people at the last Olympic trying to pinch the torch.
Instead the torch will be carried only in the host nation”
- thus neglecting and ommitting the fact that the Olympics reflects the countryies of the world.
This seems a totally ridiculous way to change rules…
blaming the human rights protestors for the disruption – when the real cause here was that in many many people’s opinion, the choice of host nation was breaching an unspoken rule.
So the future again loses out – as rules are broken ‘officially’ to cleap up after a mess when rules have been broken ‘unofficially’
;o)
terrific!
I like looking at things from different points of view, and all your comments here do stimulate my mind.
Earlier I said I have a “no-rules rule”, and that free will is probably God’s greatest gift to mankind.
But let’s look at the issue from a different point of view.
When we speak about rules and breaking rules, we tend to imagine that there is someone ready to judge, blame and punish us for doing so.
And when God’s rules are the issue, we tend to feel guilty, if we do something that results as a breach of those rules.
Well, I do not think that God’s rules (I am not talking about religious rules, that – as I have already said – are just made by men, and may be odd or weird at times) are not meant to lead to judgement, or to prevent us from “doing evil”.
Our breaking the rules leaves God untouched, for in His infinite and absolute perfection and – above all – in His infinite and absolute Love, He cannot be touched by anything. No punishment in His plans, otherwise free will would just be an empty word, and so would “forgiveness”.
God’s rules are made to prevent us not to hurt ourselves. If we do an abortion, we hurt ourselves first of all, for we will have to live with this terrible pain in our heart.
So, let’s try to look at God’s rules as a help to us, as a protection from pain and from something that may block our growth and joy.
And let’s keep on looking at men’s rules (religious, legal, social) as mere guidelines that have to face the test of our conscience every day.
God bless you all.
Love
Rossana Curri
i have heard about this event. i think all international media have spoken about it.
i for one am against all extremes be them of everyday life, be them juridical or spiritual. most of all i do not like religious fanaticism. i am of the opinion that most of the bad things that happen today are because of it. this is the paradox of obbeying rules blindly: in order to put them into practice, at all costs, you stop obbeying the most important rule, that of being humane and loving – the essence of the message of God. again i come and say that God did not give us names of religions but he gave us Faith so if a religious man said that those doctors had to be excommunicated he achieved nothing because faith will still be in their hearts independently of the name of the religion they belong to.
i think most of us break the spiritual laws. in fact this is my case too. i lied – white lies, lies by ommission but i have done it. how many times in one’s life there do not come up situations when it is better to avoid telling a hurting truth? well, this was my case too. this is , in my opinion, the most frequent rule breaking situation.
in conclusion, rules should be broken when conflict with being humane.
I think there’s a difference between man made rules (which do have some merit) and the rules that are given parimeters by our personal morals.
Where rules are imposed that clash with our own set of values then yes, there can be a spiritual justification in breaking rules.
Hi Paulo
In my experience with life, I have found that in certain situations you need to break the rules in order to get the right result.
In saying that a lot of people that are successful today have broken rules and it is those broken rules that have made them successful today, don’t get me wrong I believe strongly in rules and they are in place for very good reasons but the differentiating factor for following the rules or choosing to break the rules is the situation in which you are in and if you are willing to take responsibility of the outcome in whatever form it may be.
In the current situation with a young girl that like so many of us has made mistakes without realizing the consequences that should follow, I don’t believe it is fair to make her suffer for something that she probably didn’t fully understand,
The question here is should a child become a mother of a child? In this day and age do we bring children into this world without responsibility? Is it fair for a girl to take on such a beautiful but yet such an important responsibility?
There is a solution to everything is life its making the right one at the right time for yourself and if that includes breaking rules then I would as long as I understand the consequences of my actions
Well, I personally disagree with abortion but I respect that women have rights to choose what to do their life, but it’s also a baby’s life they’re ending. If there’s a circumstance where the health of the mother is in danger then abortion should be considered but in any other case even if the mom can’t raise the child because of any ecoomical or psychological issue I think they should give the baby up for adoption.
And about the rules, I think they’re made for us to follow them so we can live in harmony. But I agree with some people that rules should change with time because they become outdated and no longer make sense to us. I am 16 years old and I usually break my parents’ rules. I do it when I think I won’t get in major trouble and when I think that they’re wrong. So basically if you don’t agree with a rule and you have like a foundation to really say why the rule shouldn’t apply, well then I think you can break the rules. And you know, sometimes it’s fun breaking the rules! Haha
well, when talking about Syria…almost everything young people usualy do all around the world can be easily categorized here as (breaking rules)..specially 4 girls it’s even harder .. dating without getting officially engaged – going 2 pubs and stay late at night outside family home, sleep the night at a friends house – huffff
a gurl needs to party for godsake!
a year ago, I had a tatto of the XP (chi-rho) symbol,even that simple action I’v done maked me look like a freak when I walk in the street and people look at me as I am sm alien or smthn.
Free will is a heavy responsibility. That is why there are rules, to unburden people of the responsibility of choosing for yourself, what is right, what is wrong.
I have made a difficult choice to abort a child at seventeen weeks of life because my married life was unsupportable and abusive. If the child was born, it would suffer alongside me. That was a responsibility I could not take. The abortion broke my heart, and perhaps, God and other people will judge me for my decision but I know I did the right thing.
I entered the church of Senora de Guadeloupe,the other day,the patron saint of unborn children, to ask her to protect my child’s soul. I have paid a heavy price in my conscience but I have taken responsibility for my action.
In norway, we have a state church, because there aren’t so many cultural colisions here. We have the protestantic church, but we’ve always been a very liberal country. the thing is though, I don’t look upon the rules that christianity state as rules, but more of some guide lines. i think that is the secret of breaking rules; not to look upon them as breakable but something you are able to follow. In my opinion, I think that is the true spirit of safety; we always have a choice, and though there are consequences to follow our choice or not, the rules are meant for our safety. In you example Mr. Coelho, about the catholic church not supporting abortion, it is to save us from a doom (not to be dramatique, but i think it’s the right word), because only God can take and give life. But still, itæs only for our own good, and we have a choice. Free will.
Ahmed, your pics are absolutely great
I broke the rules when I decided to fly for more than 15 hours to see my love, although we left eachother!
I broke the rules when I decided to work in Africa and refused to work in several other better coutnries and more lucrative Jobs.
I break rules made by humans, but will not and shall not break God’s rules!
We can never be slaves of rules. There will always be circumstances that need to be concidered. When it comes to protecting our closest family, I think most of us would be capable of breaking rules that we under normal circumstances never would consider breaking. Also, there might be rules that prevent us from helping people in desperate need. I would break these rules even if breaking the rules would get me in trouble. I have to live with a clear conscience – rules and laws can be blind and very unfair if circumstances are not considered….
Breaking the rules used to be my forté when I was a young rebel without a cause in the America of the ’70′s and ’80′s. It was the time of Nixon and Watergate and later Reagan and Bush the First. Those who were making the rules were the representatives of the elite and not of the people. For my group (college educated youth in the northeast), there were no rules or we made up our own.
The one rule that I tried to follow along with my friends was “Love one another as you would love yourself.” To me, this means empathizing with others and letting them do what they decide as long as it harms no one else. In some cases, this means choosing the one possible course of action which does the least harm.
In my mind, anybody who adheres to rules based on external authority no matter what the circumstances is ducking responsibility and abrogating freedom. Free will is a gift but it requires taking responsibility. This was the central message of Jesus the Teacher. It’s the central message of Buddhism and many other faiths as well. All the “rules” and dogma are the machinations of other men trying to control the masses. Follow the one rule of love, and there is no need for any other “rules” when it comes to living life.
Una ley inflexible no da cabida al movimiento. La vida es movimiento, el amor es movimiento, el universo es movimiento. Cuando una regla obstaculiza mi desarrollo personal, esa regla debe ser rota. ¿Y cómo saber cuándo una ordenanza me frena? Eso no lo sabré con exactitud hasta conocerme a mí mismo. Y para conocerme a mí mismo necesito experimentarme, equivocarme, vivirme, ser capaz de observar mis respuestas y ahondar en el motivo de ellas. Sólo sabiendo de mí, conoceré lo que es mejor para mi desarrollo.
Un niño necesita vacunarse, pero de ningún modo lo aceptará porque ello implica dolor. Para un infante el sentido de “bueno” y “malo” es extraordinariamente simple: bueno=placer, malo=dolor. Y no habrá argumento que lo haga entender que las vacunas son necesarias. Curiosamente, existen muchos adultos que toman este mismo patrón para guiar su vida. En tal caso, no existe una conciencia de lo adecuado para el desarrollo personal. Y omitir las reglas en tales circunstancias será autodestructivo, indudablemente.
Jesús dijo que no había venido para abolir la ley, sino a perfeccionarla, y dicho perfeccionamiento lo hacía violando habitualmente reglas que eran vistas como importantísimas en su tiempo: curaba en sábado, comía sin lavarse las manos, comía con pecadores e incluso uno de sus milagros lo realizó en un templo pagano (Juan 5 1-18), todo ésto porque sabía que la ley fue hecha para el hombre y no el hombre para la ley.
Firstly, I hope I share a common interpretation of the notion “rules” as being a set of humanly constructed ideals which we try to ahere to in order to make the world an easier place to live in and understand. Secondly, I believe that evil is the absence of compassion, and I hope that this may help to illuminate what follows.The more we are in charge of our own destiny, we more we write our own rules. We know what is right and what is wrong and what is sometimes plainly absurd.Of all the sentient beings on the planet, we have the rare privilege of being able to make value judgements to suit every issue. We have rules in common; like driving on the appropriate side of the road. We have country and culture specific rules which only apply within the consensus of their location. Most importantly we have internal rules by which we run our lives, and it is these which we keep or break and for which maybe grace or punishment is earned. Above all we have the best rule maker of all…in the form of our conscience; and perhaps it is how this conscience has been formed, which determines who breaks which rules and when. In the specific case of the abortion, we are not creatures who are eternally guided by absolutism; part of the wonder of humankind is our capacity for adaptation and (occasionally) common sense. Surely if we deny these traits we are flying in the face of our most precious attributes. By accident, a human being is pregnant; by choice an abortion should be considered if the good incurred outweighs the bad. I think maybe Rossana Curri said it better. In the end we have two choices; we can learn to live with sadness without which we would not know happiness, or………..
Love to all. Desi
Hi Paulo and Everyone,
History shows that both the unwritten rules for what is the “norm” within society and the written rules for governance and criminal justice change. These changes come about when a social or political paradigm becomes no longer tenable in the face of public disobedience. Examples in case are the formation of the trade union movement and the fact that at least in the UK it is no longer common practise to burn witches.
The history of Christianity is that it was against the law and many died for their beliefs. How strange that the Church may have forgotten its roots?
Protest and civil disobedience in India in the forties led to the fall of British rule and ultimately to the formation of new countries with all the bloodshed associated in this process. Similarly disobedience by the civil rights activists in the USA working for the end of apartheid in America eventually brought about massive change.
Some rules are plainly stupid and small minded. It is only by standing up and saying this that change can be brought about. Rules can lead towards a dogmatic approach to enforcement that is devoid of common sense. Some rules are there yet never are enforced because they are daft and everyone knows this. I am sure that on the statute books here there are some pretty weird rules dating back through the ages.
Rules are also used to justify oppression. Look it is law therefore I am fully justified, beating you up….
What is “acceptable”, changes. And there always will be the rebel who leads the way. One man’s terrorist becomes another’s freedom fighter and founder of republic.
Given the constitutional basis of Christianity underpinning the USA, it still maintains hypocritical inconsistency for example in the death penalty. Whilst a society accepts a so called pragmatic basis for law; in neglects the ideology behind from a standpoint of conveniently forgetting about it. Let’s kill the murderers, is a tautology of reason.
We all have our own soap boxes and seldom choose to wear the moccasins of another.
Abortion is a very emotive topic and people who point fingers should remember the saying about stones and glass houses. People tend to think with the brain-below-the-belt first and this has consequences. Every single one of our actions has an impact in the web of life. And we are all jointly responsible. I know that I am no Angel as a friend of mine often reminded me.
The sexual morals of today would have lead to shame and social exclusion a few years ago.
Here in the UK we have the nanny state with so many petty trivialities and obsessions. What started out as well meaning has gone bonkers. If you’ll pardon the French, it has almost gotten down to the stages of filling out a risk and environmental impact assessment for the simple act of eating baked beans and the subsequent methane production.
I have broken many laws in my time most of them petty; by and large though, I am law abiding, because I can see the sense in them. In Pirates of The Caribbean, they talk of the code and mention that it is more like; “guidelines”.
Laws are enforced by people and governments and from time to time the enforcers fail to see that they have become morally bankrupt and the spirit of the law is neglected for purposes of subjugation and even genocide. There are many historical examples of this and it is still going on now in the 21st century.
Perhaps though the most inhibitive of rules are those we use to condition ourselves with. This is the Matrix of existence where we mutually limit our world view to what is “scientifically” provable within the context of a rationality only paradigm, where everything must be formally justified.
The world is a lot stranger than we think and infinitely more beautiful because of that.
This rationality / justification rule is one that I break every day of my life. Justification is a way of avoiding the reality and essence behind so many things.
The question is do we take the blue pill or the red pill and say goodbye to Kansas?
With all my very best wishes,
Alan
next week i shall be breaking a rule that has been given me by some officer of this town
but then he is known to be, quote “rigid, deaf to others”…
so i am going to the big city where the rules are enforced, yes, by the same ‘office’ but there is more co-operation and avenues.
I put it down to politics – but hey, I’m going to break a personal rule and splash out on a nice accomodation.
;o)
Rules are steps towards ideals that materially stimulate the expectations or reactions of others that the rule makers desire. All rule makers are political and self-serving at the end of the day, each working at full tilt within the confines of their respective cultural reality, forcing multiple standards that compete left and right for what they consider wanting, but middle players need cunning to make their mark. The wild card is unique, making and breaking rules for the hell of it, an independent suicide bomber motivated and intoxicated by extinction. Were my imagination reality too many corpses would lay stacked and rotting for the evil they have wrecked upon us all. Where my rules counted evolution would not suffer the inadequacies of man… I’m thinking we will settle one day when less is indeed more, when rules become instinctive and rule makers are history.
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