Die with a smile

Some people do well as long as they know what the baseline is.  They need rules to follow so that they are sure they are accomplishing what they can keep up with.  This is not only true for religious people, but it is especially true for them.  They like to be able to put a check by their prayers 5 times a day or by the number of kindnesses they do for people.  That is the way they know they are good people, accomplishing the tenets of their faith.  But even without religion people seem to depend on all the rules of society to keep them locked into doing right things or being productive, acting responsibly.

I know why there are rules.  Don't murder someone seems like basic living to me, but some have a different psyche from mine, so they need the enforcement of murder penalties to deter them from murdering.  I also understand the idea of contracts.  People have a hard time living up to a contract when their living conditions change from the time the contract was signed.  What I don't understand is why people depend on so many rules and regulations for daily living.

Why do people want rules (even if they are self-imposed) to follow about which words they deem offensive and which they want to hear, for example?  I know a person who will not attend any movie because they contain expletives she has conditioned herself to believe are offensive.  It's the tone of voice, not the word that usually determines if a word is offensive or not.  Sometimes it is the subject, not the word that determines offensiveness.  In the 1500s and 1600s people would swear "by the rood."  In Edward DeVere's plays (Shakespearean plays), "'Zounds" was used quite a bit.  The first was swearing by the cross, the second  was an expression of disgust meaning "God's Wounds."  So some religious people at that time thought the subject was inappropriate. Ironically, the religious people of today think it's all right to swear by the Bible or by Heaven. Their prohibited subjects are sexual acts or body parts.  People are so fickle!

Or why do people want rules about role propriety?  In the workplace, people are slighted all the time just because they are not the "right" gender; sometimes they have the wrong color of pigment in their skin, tatoos or piercings on their skin, or their skin is too pale or too tanned (people make moral judgments using paleness or tanned skin, believe it or not).  Sometimes a bilingual person is slighted because one of the languages is not considered prestigious.  My goodness.  Just pick the right person with the right skills and everything else will take care of itself.

There are literally 100s of rules in a society that people want to follow.  I don't get it.  Have the number of rules it takes for people to live peaceably together and then enjoy the diversity and wonder of life.  Rules break us down, making us monotonous people who don't achieve our best.  Rules keep the mind restricted from thinking what is possible. Rules keep the workplace quiet and controlled (like sedation); they don't allow elements that help advance thought in a creative, dynamic, bustling, and vibrant environment.  Rules impede progress, dampen spirits, and restrict the enjoyment of what comes natural.

I'm sure I break 10 rules a day somewhere as I go through daily living.  But after I missed the one opportunity of lifetime 5 years ago, I have decided to skip all but the necessary rules and live more fully.  The road to the end is not as long as it used to be, so the remainder of the road is going to be much less filled with living out rules and much more filled with fulfilling lif'e's natural joys, being around compatible people, attending events that satisfy, and having proximity to those I trust.  I will then die with a smile on my lips, saying to others that life was worth it.