I remember many years ago when a friend sat next to me on a bus with her bag from McDonald’s, and while I said nothing about her food, she turned to me and said, “Don’t tell me anything about McDonald’s, Zoe. I don’t want to know.” I was shocked by that. I couldn’t relate at all. I’ve always wanted to know. But I came to understand that what she (and many others over the years) were really saying was this:

“Don’t tell me because I don’t want to live without integrity, and if I learn something that is contrary to my values, and if I don’t change because my desires eclipse those values, I’ll have to confront my lack of integrity, and I don’t want that.”

In our MOGO Online course, participants do an exercise examining three items, one from their pantry, one from their bathroom, and one their closet, to assess their effects on other people, the environment, animals, and themselves. It’s often a sobering exercise. And it takes commitment and perseverance to gain anything but cursory knowledge. Then, when they do learn, they are often called upon to make different, and sometimes difficult choices. At first glance this might seem unpleasant, enervating, and even overwhelming. But it’s good to reframe it. The more we know, the greater our opportunities to take back our freedom and live the life we want for ourselves. It doesn’t mean we’ll always make MOGO choices. That’s impossible to do. But it does mean we have a choice.

~ Zoe

Image courtesy of VirtualErn via Creative Commons.

Filed under: critical thinking, integrity, MOGO (Most Good) Tagged: | consumerism, critical thinking, denial, fast food, integrity, McDonald's, MOGO choices, positive choices, products