Bbbbbad to the Bone...

Ah.

So I'm experiencing a bit of confuzzlement lately.

Well ok, not lately. As of the past two days or so.

And I have a bit of a discussion in mind.

The premise involves focusing (after the fact) on what bad things could possibly happen, and what good, fun things did happen.

It's kind of strange how after you do something "bad" with supposed consequences, your mind, after the initial like ecstasy of rebellion, decides to start considering everything that could potentially go wrong now that you've done the thing. Like, who could find out, if you'll be hurt or get in trouble later on down the line. And it just seems to grow worse as time goes back after the incident.

Is it worth considering these? On the one hand, you've already done the thing, so you can't really change it, so considering any potential consequences isn't really going to help them to not happen.

On the other hand, considering those consequences could help you to deal with them should they arise later. Or could prevent you from committing the same supposed bad thing at a later time.

On the other OTHER hand, you could potentially be stressing yourself out over nothing, and creating ill-effects on your health.

See what I mean? Too complex. Perhaps better to not think of it at all, except that would be making the decision to not think of it. Bleh.

Then there's the fact of considering the consequences before you take the action. And also how these considerations can potentially fly out the window in the moment, and if that is the fault of the person being distracted, or making some subconscious decision to just not consider the consequences in the moment. Can the person then be blamed for their actions? Have they still made a choice? (ah, all I could think of was Freewill when I wrote that)

So many ethical choices, in individual thoughts, decisions, considerations. As in writing, especially creative non-fiction. I'm noting this more and more as I gather interviews and worry about how I'm going to be portraying the people I know in writing. Even though I feel I know them, I know that my view is often very skewed, and that they may feel differently about themselves than I see them.

Jeez, creative non-fiction. How come you make me ask so many questions??

I only have so much time to think about these issues in one school week.

It's a shame, really.

~Dale B.