Blessings and Curses

Sometimes, I think that life itself is a blessing. It is the people living it that bring curses upon it.

We all have our own principles. If they are good and produce goodness, they are called that way, principles. If they are bad and produce badness, they are called excuses or justifications of a lame act.

I am hearing more and more people saying that principles are not absolutes, and that they depend on each character and situation. There should be more leeway, they would say, to accommodate and tolerate. Principles, if held on too steadfastly, result in a deadlock which no one can get out from.

They would also deny and argue the validity of one's principles, usually requiring a definition, which would not be good enough for them anyway. They would go on to say that different people see different things differently, and principles may or may not worth a lot to them. I assume the conclusion would mean to be a more flexible person.

I am always left bewildered by this, no matter how many times they tell me. Where, and how, is one to draw the line of distinction between being flexible with principles and compromising them? It seems to me a very thin line. Who would be the judge to decide this penumbra?

Do we feel better, when, after we compare ourselves to a more inferior standard of behaviour, and then pat ourselves on the back? Do we gain more confidence in this, bold in the knowledge that we are superior to the ones we just compared?

There is no strict set of principles. It seems to me to be of extreme importance the utterer of this statement. One could be pointing out a crucial lesson of life, while the other could use it to justify and compromise. One could be saying this and putting emphasis on the need to have the courage to uphold one's principles, while the other could say it in the context of 'laws are made to be broken' .

Sometimes, I think that life itself is a blessing. It is the people living it that bring curses upon it.