WARNING: As the herd of Valentines weekend movie-goers eagerly prepare to contribute to what is sure to be jaw-dropping box-office numbers — the following point of view may be as controversial as the film itself…

The inevitable success of Fifty Shades of Grey is essentially a raised glass to the moral decline of values in the Western world.

BUT WAIT!  Make no mistake… or better yet make mistakes: humanity is not perfect!  And in a world where our experience is based on polarity and relativity, we never will be….AND THAT IS OKAY! Being perfect is not our purpose… nor is that point the purpose of this article.

The purpose is to use the latest of many points on our social trend line to reflect on the real threat our humanity faces: desensitization…. Evil needs to exist in order for “Good” to prevail… We will make mistakes, we will do evil… but will we recognize it?

The biggest obstacle which stands in our way of becoming a more loving and unified world is the blurred lines. Good and Bad used to be two opposing but clear perspectives, now its controversial. Right and wrong used to be Black and White, now it’s many shades of grey.

I admittedly have not read this book, so am not passing judgement on it — and CERTAINLY not on it’s readers or movie watchers.  I wrestle with my own demons — and they would gain ground on me if I focused too much on the wrestling matches of others.

I am however using the controversial buzz as a springboard to remember that the single most important thing to do on the road to becoming a good person IS NOT to be flawless, but rather, to recognize your flaws.  As long as we, as individuals and as a society, can be true to ourselves and discern what is making us weaker or stronger — then by simply recognizing our negatives becomes a positives…

There is NO greater strength than the recognition of one’s own weaknesses.

I HOPE ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND! It’s okay to indulge in a drink, some not-so-healthy eats, or the guilty pleasure of your choice, but as you do, I challenge you to challenge yourself with some self-evaluation and ask yourself the question “why”?  Our weakness is demonstrated in how we ‘chase those highs’ — we enjoy the junk food so eat more and more of it, we enjoy the drink so go from 1 to 5…  We lose ourselves in the chase of those highs, and become prisoners of our own device. Our strength, however, is demonstrated in our ability to enjoy those guilty pleasures with the discipline to do so in moderation.

And if you’ve already chosen to see it, then…

I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE SHOW!  And as you do, I challenge you to challenge yourself to recognize how the message of it, or other creations, can change you and/or others around you. Then discern whether or not the change reflects the type of person you want to be and/or the type of world you want to live in.

I HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR LIFE! It’s okay to make mistakes — we are not perfect, on purpose! Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.  As you enjoy your life, I challenge you to challenge yourself to simply acknowledge them!

After all, WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES... the best of us will work on them, the worst of us won’t recognize them.

“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”
~Kevin Spacey, “The Usual Suspects”

There’s only two sides; from Day to Night, Dark to Light, and Death to Life…
But between the extremes we lose site of what once was Black and White.
So why would you and I use the grey-scale for weighing Wrong and Right?

ENJOY!