Saturday, July 26, 2008

Mama On: Privacy

"Everybody's business is nobody's business and nobody's business is everybody's business."

Surprised to learn that everybody knows a different version of your business? And how willing they are to accept and (gasp!) appreciate the worst of it? Even when you don't make an active personal practice of putting your business, "out there"?


Hey, it happens, but the Mamaknologist knowing life for what it is, takes this as a series of lessons based in gossip, including:
  1. don't start none, won't be none (think about it...)
  2. don't do anything you don't want to see on the front page of your hometown newspaper.
  3. and (my mother's favorite) they talked about Jesus, what makes you think they won't talk about you?

Face it, people are going to talk, especially if you insist on painting targets on yourself and pouring fuel on an already happily burning fire. Contrary to popular belief, all publicity (including the negative) is not good publicity. Do you really want to be "famous" for the worst things you can do or have done? Do you really want to be seen as a less than valuable human being? Be less than worthy of love, respect and consideration?

I'm going to guess the answer to those questions is a resounding, "no". This means that your personal business and life should always be exactly that -- personal, and they should remain so. If you put them out in the world to be handled and abused like any other cheap commodity, that's exactly how they will be perceived and treated by the world at large. And worse, that's how you will ultimately treat yourself, leaving your spirit and your person damaged: chipped, tarnished, broken, and useless.

The Mamaknology to be gleaned here is that if you have no value for yourself and your affairs, don't expect anyone else to have it either. The biblical reference for this has to do with casting pearls before swine -- don't do it. Always keep the best of yourself for yourself, and know that others will treat you as you treat yourself.



No comments: