Moral morass

Balzac said "behind evey great wealth is a great crime".

Often we hear stories of people who made it big time in the papers. And we often wonder how could the dude or the gal who's seemingly ordinary to ones eyes suddenly amass staggerring and mind boggling wealth in proportion to their skills. Only by digging deeper would one then finds out the reality of the quote above. 

We hear of skillful politicians who are in collusion with their campaign donors and benefactors. Or of the enterprising entreprenuer lacing prodicts with odd ingredients (eew) to save cost. Or of the shrewd corporate army general and their cohoots cutting cormers and inflating corporate profitability. The bigger question - what is/or are their motivations why they do what they do. Greed? Selfishness? Power? Not for me to judge.

On another area of life we also hear stories of "do gooders" under the guise of guilt. Meaning doing something for humanity in order to hide a character flaw. Or of people who donate to charity in order to not appear greedy. Or those who perform community service and outreach only to crumble at the weight of their own double lives. 

Is there a cure to this morass? Believe there is. First, be aware of ones "dark side". And just when one is tempted or lured towards their dark side, awareness is a powerful first step. Next is acceptance. Accept that as human beings we all have these tendencies. Third and last is diverson. We re-channel dark thoughts to activities until all our energies are spent. 

Dont know if you agree with my prescription, but it is working in me. Experience is the best teacher indeed.