The Devil Made Me Do It

The Devil Made Me Do It

I didn't mean to cheat the IRS - The Devil Made Me Do It. I didn't mean to steal from my friend - The Devil Made Me Do It. I didn't mean to forget to tell the person I sold my car to that the spare tire was missing - The Devil Made Me Do It. I didn't mean to be Bernie Madoff - The Devil Made Me Do It.

One of my favorite songs by The Rolling Stones is called "Sympathy For The Devil." Here are a few lyrics from that song:

I was 'round when Jesus Christ

Had his moment of doubt and pain

Made damn sure that Pilate

Washed his hands and sealed his fate

I stuck around St. Petersburg

When I saw it was a time for a change

Killed the czar and his ministers

Anastasia screamed in vain

I rode a tank

Held a general's rank

When the blitzkrieg raged

And the bodies stank

I shouted out,

Who killed the Kennedys?

When after all

It was you and me

Pleased to meet you

Hope you guess my name

But what's puzzling you

Is the nature of my game

Just as every cop is a criminal

And all the sinners saints

As heads is tails

Just call me Lucifer

'Cause I'm in need of some restraint

It seems to me that too many of us have a problem taking ownership for our problems and/or our actions. "It's not my fault, McDonald's made me put that boiling hot coffee between my legs while I drove off with both of my hands on the wheel."

Is McDonald the devil or was that person just too stupid to realize her actions might burn the crap out of her leg? The one phrase in the Rolling Stone's song that strikes me the most is:

I shouted out,

Who killed the Kennedys?

When after all

It was you and me

That's right, it WAS you and me. We created the environment for that son of a bitch to kill my favorite President. The same was true about Lincoln. The devil didn't make those ass holes become murders. The world we created also created monsters - can you spell ISIS?

Putting the blame on the devil or anyone else for our actions is never going to lead to a happy life. Taking ownership, admitting mistakes, doing your best to fix what you broke is one of the keys to happiness.

There just isn't enough LOVE going on in this world. Are we going to wait around until GOD fixes this world or are we going to LOVE unconditionally even if we don't get what we want? Are we going to wait for a major catastrophe to happen before we realize that we play a role (even though it's minuscule) in what happens to this beautiful world we live in - can you spell global warming?

For those of you who hate the fact that I'm putting the blame on you and me:

The Devil Made Me Do It