The Means Matter as Much as the End

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions," supposedly attributed to St. Bernard of Clairvaux. The idea is that good intentions do not necessarily lead to good outcomes, at least that's the modern interpretation. It is hard to say what St. Bernard meant by "L'enfer est plein de bonnes volontés ou désirs" (Hell is full of good intentions and wills) 874 years ago.

Modern society, politics, and culture are struggling with, and seemingly often agreeing with, the notion that the ends matter more than the means. The premise being that if good intentions can lead to hell, perhaps bad ones can lead to heaven. Perhaps wrong, deceitful, selfish, or cruel actions can lead to good outcomes. Perhaps they can lead us to winning and our enemies to losing, perhaps they can lead us to greater wealth and success. Perhaps...

It is evident that wrong actions can lead to "good" outcomes, but it is worth reflecting on what we consider to be a "good" outcome. When an unethical action is taken, it may provide short-term benefit and reward, but we and our actions do not exist in a vacuum separate from the harm we have caused our friends, family, partners, community, other nations, and our planet.

It’s a appreciation for cause and affect, that there are consequences to how we impact those we are connected to. Whether those connections are deeply felt or not, they do exist, and our actions reverberate over time and space. We can foster more harmonious, more caring relationships with those in our world, or the opposite. But there are consequences. We are part of one world. And when you hurt the other, you will hurt (even if you do not recognize the source of that hurt), and that is not a good outcome no matter what a bank account shows or a country's GDP ranking.

There is no other, not really. And the more we realize and respect that, the happier we'll be. Because then we focus on building those better relationships and we reap the rewards of peace, harmony, and good will. That I believe is a source of great happiness. I’ve personally found this to be true, as I’ve learned over the years to give greater attention to my relationship with all I am connected to.

Wishing greater harmony in your relationships with all,

Naser