Right or Wrong, that's the Question

I feel something so right
by doing the wrong thing,
and I feel something so wrong,
by doing the right thing
I could lie, could lie, could lie.
Everything that kills me makes me feel alive.
(OneRepublic, Counting Stars)

Many of us can resonate with that song. How can it be that doing the "wrong" thing can sometimes feel so right? And how can something that appears to be the "right" thing to do feel so wrong at times? It turns out that right and wrong only make sense from your perspective. Add a dimension to the problem and a different observer and the assessment may be a very different one.

You can be a monk, perfectly at peace with yourself and your environment, until one fine day you hear a voice that tells you that you are just running away from life. Similarly, you may have lived your life as a scoundrel and a thief until one day a sage informs you that out of your crime something beautiful got created. Who knows what is wrong or right - only you can. And if you refuse to listen to your inner voice, the Tao has a way of letting you know the inconvenient truth.

Right or wrong are entirely defined by you. You are the creator. God in Neale Walsch's "Conversations with God" often says that you have to define where you want to go. If you want to go north, but you end up driving south, you waste a lot of gas as well as your time. Let life help you define in which direction you want to go. "Feeling alive" is a good indicator of success; mind your perceived duties and economic necessities, listen to the advice of others, and always keep your dreams in front of you. When the constraints that you are facing conflict with your aspirations just put forward your best foot and see what happens.

The Hindus have a concept called "dharma" that makes this point. You have a role to play in this divine movie plot so please show up for a performance of a lifetime. Lord Krishna says to Arjun in the middle of the battle field, "It is better to strive in one's own dharma than to succeed in the dharma of others. Nothing is ever lost in following one's own dharma, but competition in another dharma breeds fear and insecurity." Find your mission and follow it. But don't just listen to what the voice in your head says, be in tune with your feelings as well, and don't shun life's messengers either. Step back, see the big picture, especially your vision of where you want to be one day. Don't worry, you'll have the answer soon. The Tao talks to anyone who cares to listen.