The Rules

I flew with someone the other day who put something so simple into perspective in one sentence.
"If you are doing the right thing, you don't have to worry about the rules."
BINGO
As soon as she said it, I realized, I don't generally think about rules at all. Not at work, not as I drive, not in my friendship boundaries. We all know the rules. When you treat people right, when you are doing the right thing, for yourself and the world around you, you don't have to worry about shit.
I do have a loophole for this. Parking. Urgh! I hate paying for parking. I hate getting tickets. I think it's the biggest scam and makes me mad just to think about it. So, every time I park, I stress.
Unneeded, worrisome stress over how long my car can sit without a ticket.
And 50% of the time, I lose. I worry and I lose. Yet, I still do it. Why?
I know better.
I know the rules.
I know I am trying to beat the system. Then I get angry when I get caught.

I look at people who lie and think the same thing. Why bother? You are going to get caught. You have gotten caught before, and you will get caught again. It is inevitable, yet you still do it.
Then you make excuses for why you lied. Really?
I watch people I work with try and manipulate the system. The conversation around the water cooler always circles around the rules...what the rules are, how to beat them, what not to do if you don't want to get caught breaking them.
How about this, do the right thing.
Sound familiar?
The energy people put into wrangling bullshit, and into trying to convince others that they are good people could fuel the energy crisis. Yet, it doesn't, it just fuels irresponsibility and the potential of getting away with something irrelevant.