bumpers

Out walking with two companions, I'm sure to be in my teacher's company. The good in one I adopt in myself; the evil in the other I change in myself. — Confucius from Analects

No matter what situation we find ourselves in, there is an opportunity for learning. Both good and bad role models teach us different things. Sometimes lessons of what not to do stick with me longer. However, learning what not to do does not inform us of what to do. Ideally we have both types of examples in our life.

In my experience, most humans have qualities that I admire and would like to adopt in myself. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. We can notice these shortcomings just as we notice strengths. Then we turn that into a mental note to guide our own behavior. Both are informative. We can cherry pick the best qualities in those around us. They don't need to be in one person.

You know when you are driving in the mountains on a one lane road. Some have those warning strips on the edge to make sure you don't run off the road. The extra safe roads also have a warning strip on the middle yellow line. This prevents you from going into oncoming traffic. Just like bowling bumpers. Every extreme side brings us back to a balanced center.

We can use the sum total of our experiences and people in our life to stay in the lane.