Do or do not… there is no try. - Master Yoda

I was talking with some friends last weekend and we were discussing how people tend to justify themselves. I made this choice because_____. I was late because_____. Either you did something or you did not. When is it that the journey matters?

Let’s look at this a few different ways. When running late for something you may explain why you are late. Does it really matter why? Your justification does not change the fact that you were late. Wouldn’t a simple “I’m sorry” be enough? (Assuming you are in fact sorry)

While parenting some teach their children not to hit under any circumstances. No hitting. Period! It doesn’t matter if you have been tormented for 1 minute or 1 hour- Walk away! You see, under this reasoning if you hit then there is no explaining why you hit. No explanation needed just consequences. Now let’s take this a step further. Go with me on this. What if you have tried your best to use your words and it is not working? What if there is no adult around to referee. What if the person hits YOU? Are you supposed to walk away? Run away? Defend yourself? The lines are getting a little blurry to me. What about you?

Let’s imagine Eve in the Garden of Eden. She was alone. She engaged in a discussion with the serpent regarding the rules of the garden. The serpent asked her if she was REALLY not supposed to eat from the tree in the center of the garden. She became fixated on the tree and its fruit. In the end she ate the fruit and even convinced Adam to do so. When God found out that they ate the fruit they were banished from the garden forever. I do not believe that the explanation of why should trump the consequence of the action, but was there value in the “why”? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe the value was the lesson learned that there are indeed consequences in all that you do.