Apr 16 2009
Thou Shalt Not Steal
Photo courtesy of www.stinky.typepad.com
“I’d rather be caught holding up a bank than stealing so much as a two-word phrase from another writer.” ~ Jack Smith
Growing up as a Catholic we were taught that stealing was a sin and that we would never get to heaven if we stole anything. Now that I am much older I really don’t adhere to this belief in the literal sense. However I do believe that stealing comes from the ego as I have stated in previous posts and that in order to live in a state of joy and harmony we need to shed our egos. Being one with our spirit and living at heart is the only path to peace.
Stealing is a form of power. It is blatantly taking something that is not ours either for personal gain or the sheer feeling that we got away with something. It is human nature to want what we cannot have and we have all experienced this feeling in our lives. The difference is that a person who wants something that does not belong to them and steals it is acting from ego, whereas a person who wants that same thing but does not steal is acting from their heart.
There are many forms of stealing. There is the burglar who will break into your home or business and steal your belongings. There is the robber who will hold up a gas station, bank or business and steal money. There is the home-wrecker who will steal a husband or wife. Then there is the thief or plagiarist who will steal your ideas, your thoughts, your words and your passions. Though all have different consequences they are all the same in that something of value was taken. It hurts everyone including the thief. It hurts the thief even more because though the thief now has something they want they will never be happy because they will always want more. Plus, they will never get in touch with their inner self because they completely ignore their heart. Stealing from someone says that you have no compassion for anyone and compassion comes from the heart.
Now, I certainly am not blaming or judging anyone as a result of the scenarios above however what I am trying to do is point out that the act of stealing in the long run hurts the thief more than it hurts the victim.
A suggestion:
1. If or whenever it crosses your mind to take something that is not yours ask yourself how would you feel if something or someone you held close to your heart were taken from you?
great article Jo. you are correct, doing something bad such as stealing hurts the thief more than the victim because it will all come back to him and he may end up in really deep trouble, not only with the law but with himself.
I first read the “other” version of this post. It was obvious that it was not you because many of the word changes caused a lot of the meaning to be lost, or just not make sense (grammatically and otherwise.)
Your *real* version though — right on!
Stealing is wrong. There’s nothing like the feeling of being violated when you are the victim. You and Jack Smith hit it dead on the nail.
Davida