Motives

“The inner thought coming from the heart represents the real motives and desires.  They are the cause of action.”  - Raymond Holliwell

“Too great a preoccupation with motives is likely to lead to too little concern for consequences.”   - Katherine Whitehorn

     Motives are the underlying reasons for our actions – most often hidden or obscure.  What a fascinating mine field thinking through this is!   Entangled and woven beneath our surface is a morass that appears to be beyond understanding – the true things that drive our actions and result in our patterns of behavior.  The second quote above shows the despair of that author – getting lost in this maze carries the risk of losing sight of the results of our actions – or doing the wrong things for the right reasons.  This then degenerates into the line of thought that the ends justify the means – the root of many of our biggest cultural problems. Can sense be made of this mess?

     For me, most often I am seeking either to control or to appreciate the things around me.  If I am seeking to control things I am operating out of fear.  I am afraid I will lose something I have or will not get something I want or need.  These things can be relationships, material things, ambitions, abilities or even what I perceive to be my existence itself.  However, if I seek to appreciate something I do not have the need to understand, classify, dissect and control it.  I can enjoy it just for its essence; existence itself is something that I can barely begin to fathom.  At its core, is not appreciation the foundation of love?   When I ask myself if what I am doing or seeking to do is rooted in fear or in love the answers usually become clear quickly.   When it becomes apparent that the motive is a hidden fear (which is quite often,) I can work to reveal, address and defang of that particular fear.  I will then be rid of one more disguised tyrant that robs me of my birthright – my humanity. 

Today, may I err on the side of compassion.  D.Emch

All have a great Saturday

David