Options and Intentions

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Are good intentions really worthless?

It's a common saying that good intentions aren't of value. It was a view I held but it has been challenged by the experience of a friend.

This friend is a keeper of rare breeds of rabbit. When one of his prized bunnies died, he suffered a breakdown. He couldn't stop wondering if he'd done the right thing, if he'd made the right choices, if he could have saved his pet. Now to non animal lovers like me, a breakdown over a rabbit seems incomprehensible but it got me thinking.

In some ways his reaction was perfectly human. When it comes to issues of life and death, we all play the "what if?" game and lose. Because if we'd chosen option A we'd have wondered if we should have chosen option B, and vice versa. We should not be surprised to experience doubt over past decisions.

First, my friend should remember that his rabbit would never have lived as long and as happy a life with another owner. This was a man who gave his pets the best treatment he could afford, a man who studied rabbit disease, who knew as much as any local vet. Apparently the general level of vet knowledge is woeful. A vet can pass his exams without ever having handled a rabbit.

Second, no amount of care will ensure that our guards aren't momentaritly dropped. We're human, we're fallible, we get tired, lazy, complacent. We can't be alert 24/7. It isn't right to blame yourself for being imperfect flesh-and-bone.

Third, whatever choice we made, we'll wonder if we did the right thing. But the key here, I believe, is the intention that lay behind the choice. The WHY a particular choice was made. The final outcome is not always in our hands but the initial part of the equation is. No matter the outcome, that underlying intention behind the choice can never change or be stolen from you.

So in some circumstances I'd have to argue that intentions are of worth, and are a true indication of character. I go further to say that the original intention is the only thing that remains pure in this messy confused world. After the foreseen and unforeseen repercusions of a decision have settled and the doubts come to haunt us, we can seek refuge in the intention: the only part of the chain that was within our control.

Time to ask questions

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What is publicly admitted common knowledge should make us stop and think before even the right to think is removed.

Continue reading "Time to ask questions" »

Slagg Brothers' Interview on the BBC

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My part-time associates, The Slagg Brothers, have just had an interview with the BBC. Very (emphasis on the word VERY) minor and well hidden, you'd never stumble on it by accident. You can read the interview here.

They also made pick of the week on the BBC's Comedy Soup page with their fake Dragons' Den pitch: Optimism In A Can

Slagg Brothers' sketches are being featured on TV:Homegrown (Sky 201) on Fridays at 23:00 and repeats in the week. Hope you enjoy.

Visit their website for all the latest video.