The reason we're always shocked by the actions of others - like Simpson - is that we have no idea who they really are - we just think we do. We judge them by outer actions, which are never a true reflection of what's occurring inside their heads.
O.J. Simpson, no matter his guilt or innocence in his murder charges, obviously wrestled with negative thoughts and feelings about his relationship with his ex-wife. Evidence reveals that on many occasions, he chose to ride those feelings until they led to negative actions of abuse.
True heroes are not the people you see running on a football field. They're not even those pulling babies out of burning buildings, throwing themselves in front of assassin's bullets or CPRing someone back to life. Those are easy heroics - an event occurs, instinct meets opportunity and before a thought occurs, the "heroic" action is completed.
No, the toughest heroics are not the things that people do - it's the things that they refuse to do. Real heroes - the ones you'll never recognize on the street - are refusing to be swept away on negative thoughts and feelings - no matter what the provocation.
These heroes - the elite - do their work quietly, constantly, within themselves. They're continually strengthening the realization that thoughts are not who they really are. They see thoughts as the temporary winds that blow through their days. They recognize the attachment to any thought is the same as asking for matching feelings - which results in matching actions.
Positive thoughts generate positive feelings which generate positive actions. Negative thoughts generate negative feelings which generate negative actions.
Did O.J. murder the two people? It's certainly possible. Anyone is capable of anything at anytime. Just ride the wrong thoughts long enough and the country will be whispering about us too.
In one regard, if Simpson does turn out to be guilty, it can be argued he was actually a hero many times over by resisting the urge to commit the murderous actions that must have played in his mind regularly.
Yet, like trying to hold a basketball underwater, negative thoughts and feelings can't be overpowered - they'll always find a way to surface. And when they do - it can be explosive.
The only way to avoid them, is to never embrace them in the first place. They are not us. They merely flow by. They are always temporary. We decide which we choose to embrace. Our thoughts and feelings are no more who we really are than the pants we wear are really our legs. You wouldn't let a nasty stranger choose the pants you wear, why let a nasty thought choose the feelings you wear?
Heroes - true heroes - took the advice of their mothers. Be careful of the friends you keep, - in this case the thoughts and feelings you embrace - because you'll become just like them.
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Mike Johnson is an energetic writer & entrepreneur. Learn more about Mike's offerings at www.MikeJohnson.biz