Wholesome Thoughts

Do you ever think back to your childhood and youth and then wonder what on earth happened to the world?  At the risk of sounding elderly I admit that I do reflect back on how I was raised and wonder where the folks today got their values.

What has set me off today?  For some peculiar reason I felt the need to read Grace Livingston Hill novels recently.  Her books are an older version of the old Harlequin Romance novels and I have no idea why I felt compelled to read these books other than nostalgia.  They are overflowing with morality lessons that almost make you gag but I persevere.  The main characters are always noble in character who strive to always do the right thing.  Everything in the story is quite black and white so there is no mistaking the good guys and there is no doubt about what ought to be done.  Pushing away the religious context there is yet a simple standard of right and wrong which I think is lacking in today’s world. 

Several times a year our company runs mandatory learning campaigns and recently we had another anti-corruption and ethics one.  I often feel frustrated after taking these lessons because I am an extremely literal person.  I accept that others see things as grey when I am a more black and white kind of person when it comes to right and wrong.  However I am irritated beyond words when we are inflicted with these campaigns annually yet I see no material improvement in certain conduct.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying we have corruption, far from it in fact.  But there was one section on bullying and that type of behaviour has gone on for much too long in certain instances.  With my INFJ personality you can only imagine how I feel when I hear about such things.  I go around the bend.

So I choose to retreat into these novels to sooth my soul with wholesomeness.  In the olden days people actually believed in being decent behind the scenes as well as in front of the cameras.  I like to think that with me “what you see is what you get”.  I don’t know how to play the game and for the life of me I cannot make myself pretend.  I’m repulsed by smarmy behaviour and baffled when others don’t see it.  That’s the Pollyanna in me.