“I should love to satisfy all, if I possibly can; but in trying to satisfy all, I may be able to satisfy none. I have, therefore, arrived at the conclusion that the best course is to satisfy one’s own conscience and leave the world to form its own judgment, favorable or otherwise.”
-Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)

This week’s topic is conscience. I remember Jiminy Cricket singing “and always let your conscience be your guide.” And I can still hear his little cricket voice from the Disney cartoon, I must have heard that dozens of times when I was a kid. I think the simple explanation I was given at that time was that your conscience would always tell you the right thing to do. If you listened to your conscience, you wouldn’t give in to temptation and do something you would regret later. I may not have understood that completely when I was a child, but I get it now. Sometimes it takes some life experience for us to really learn the lesson. Gandhi is saying here that you can’t please everyone, so you’ve got to please yourself by doing what your conscience tells you is the best thing to do. Then basically let the chips fall where they may.
-Lissa Coffey