Navigation

If I'm going somewhere I like to have a mental map in my head. In the car I do use SatNav, but it's perameters aren't reliable & I prefer Ordnance Survey maps. I'm not always reliable either. I once turned right instead of left at the start of a long walk & by the time I discovered my error it was too late & we had to do the whole thing in reverse.

I also have a behaviour mental map. What I think is acceptable & what is not. We have to learn how to navigate, whether it's journeys or relationships. A fundamental part of learning to navigate relationships is parenting. The first 5 years of a childs life are the most important in terms of learning & the main role models for that child are their parents. Parents model both good behaviour & bad. The young child accepts the parents behaviour as the norm. However, as the child grows influences from friends, wider family, teachers, role models & a host of others can modify the behaviour patterns learnt. The child grows into adulthood reflecting the lessons learnt in how to navigate relationships. 

 

This process produces the huge variety of behaviour characteristics we can see worldwide. Humans are infinitely variable.

What concerns me is the tendency I am observing away from the moral code of all religions also a non believers moral compass. I see more agression, more unacceptable verbal abuse, a lack of tolerance of "otherness", a lack of truthfulness in people with power, wealth & influence, a tendency to isolationism & self interest.....Anger, territorialism, war, genocide, famine are all the result of this navigation to the "dark side".

I still believe we are inherently good. We certainly have the capacity to be good. To share, to be concerned for the plight of others, to be generous, kind & helpful, to put others first.

But it is a case of "use it or lose it". It truly is a battle between good & evil. Sometimes there is a cost to doing what is right, but we have to be prepared to pay that cost. The European Union avoided giving €200 billion of frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine's war effort yesterday because a few countries put their own self interest before support for a country fighting for it's sovereign existance. Shame on them. We all might pay a huge price for that decision.

If we do not navigate towards the light we end up in darkness.