
Hmmm, where is your line in the sand and are you prepared to defend it?
I first heard the proverb at the head of this post many years ago. It immediately resonated with me and became etched into my memory. It has come to mind at regular intervals in my life as questionable situations arise and continues to do so.
If you have not heard the proverb before, let me explain. It refers to a situation in which the result of a failure to predict or correct a minor issue causes that minor issue to escalate and compound itself into a major issue. It may only be in hindsight that the chain of causation becomes apparent.
The proverb has been passed down over the centuries, surviving the test of time, and has been quoted by many including, I understand, Benjamin Franklin in his “Poor Richard’s Almanac”.
Why has it come to mind again now? The current context is one of personal integrity. We all have a code of values by which we live. Yours may be different from mine. I respect that and expect the same consideration from you.
To be quite frank, if you are unwilling to give me that consideration, I have no room for you in my life.
In the times in which we are living, we are increasingly being asked, and sometimes told, to do things with which we do not agree. In each circumstance, we arrive at a decision point. Is this a battle I want to take on?
If the act involved has minor consequences, we may chose to live to fight another day. But there comes a time when our personal integrity is at stake. At that moment, if we lack the courage of our convictions, it is the equivalent of the horseshoe-nail – setting off a chain of events which changes our life forever and not for the better.
Taking a stand will always have consequences. Fear of those consequences can tempt us to swallow our pride and fall in line. We may breathe a sigh of relief. But I promise you that compromising our integrity will break a fundamental part of our being that can never be repaired.
When your days are winding down and you see the end coming, I sincerely hope that the horseshoe-nail does not come back to haunt you. I do not intend to find myself in that position.
~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet
~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.
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Tags: courage · horseshoe nail · integrity · metaphor · Michael Robert DyetNo Comments