Considering the Alternatives.

Ever since that glorious institution, the NHS, saved my life three years ago, I’ve been trying to be a better person. Or maybe it might be truer to say that I have been conscious of the desire to be a better person.

I was faced with an unusual situation today which brought the principle into sharp relief, and I did my best to be a better person. And after the deed was done a sobering thought arose:

It struck me that there are two ways in which you can become a better person. The first way is to go inside yourself and change the nature of who you are, so that you behave in a better way because your new inclinations take you there automatically. That’s not as easy as it sounds, so what’s the alternative? The alternative is to work from the outside, which means making a conscious effort to behave in a better way even though it flies in the face of your natural inclinations. Having considered the matter, I still don’t know which is the nobler, or whether the concept of nobility is even relevant.

I could go on to make an extended post about this by telling the whole story and relating it to my natural inclinations. But I won’t because I talk about myself far too much. I’ll leave the question open and listen to some nice Danny Elfman music instead. I am so very tired after all. Here’s some nice Danny Elfman music: