When I was in high school my English teacher required the students in his class to write a weekly theme based on a single word or phrase. There were few other directions other than requiring both a minimal and maximal number of words. It was up to our individual creativity to determine the thoughts that would end up on the papers that we wrote. It was exactly the kind of assignment that I enjoyed. 

I am the kind of person who likes having as much freedom to do things as possible. I become surly when I am restricted by too many rules. I dislike the idea of following a scripted way of living. I have never been able to work or live in that kind of environment, but when I was teaching and working as the Dean of Faculty I quickly learned that a large segment of the population thrives on having exacting sets of rules. 

For those of us who are free spirits the mere thought of being told that we must act in very specific ways is anathema. I literally was never able to learn in a set way. I hated those classes where the teacher demanded that I take notes in a particular manner. I have my own learning style and I found such constrictions to actually make it more difficult to recall and explain information. 

I’ve been told that I don’t hold my pencil correctly when I write but my methods has worked for me for decades. I take notes with pictures, codes that I created just for myself years ago. I bloom when assignments are open ended rather than confined by rule after rule that I have to check off as I work. My motto has always been to just get the gist of expectations and then let my creativity run wild. Somehow when left alone I soar, when confined I become mediocre. 

Nonetheless I know for a fact that many people need step by step directions and requirements to be successful. They crave rules to guide them. They seriously can’t handle an assignment without hard and fast deadlines or detailed descriptions of expectations. Thus I found myself often providing such guidelines to both teachers and students when I myself was appalled by them. 

As a math teacher I knew that there were almost always multiple ways of solving a particular problem. I like the idea of allowing my students to explore concepts and come up with their own methods of understanding. More often than not, however, I would have a substantial number of pupils who wanted me to simply provide them with a step by step process without going into the weeds of comprehension. The idea of thinking outside of the box was not just foreign to them, it was anathema. 

I found the same to be true when I was the Dean of Faculty. I required the teachers to provide me with a review of their weekly lesson plans each Monday morning. Some of the most exciting and excellent teachers let me know what they were doing with brief descriptions of their intentions. Others literally turned in detailed scripts. The worst aspect of the situation was whenever some of the teachers rebelled and insisted that I create a strict formula that every person in the building had to follow. In other words, they demanded that every person should have to conform to their ways of doing things. 

I find society to be much like that. We have people who want incredibly strict ways of living. They think that forcing everyone to follow the rules that make them comfortable makes for a more harmonious society. Such people think it their duty to make rules that reflect their preferred sets of beliefs. They never stop to realize that a truly vital society understands that we each have different needs and the best way of doing things is to allow each person to tackle life’s demands in the ways that work for them. Some will need a strict written code of conduct and others will just naturally find ways to live lovingly in community with fellow humans. Most of the time keeping things simple like my English teacher did makes for happier moments of discovering who we are and what works best for us. 

Obviously we have to follow certain common sense laws that allow us to function as a society. We humans seem to naturally understand that we can’t hurt each other with lies, theft, violence, betrayal. We codify sets of conduct that seem to be universal to most ways of thinking. Still, we always walk a fine line when designing laws that involve our religious and political differences. Here in the United States we should be certain that we do not become so judgmental that we cross a line that forces a goodly number of our citizens to adhere to philosophies that should be individual and personal. To avoid devolving into tyranny we would do well to be open to many different points of view. That is when we operate at our best as a community. 

Instead of being judgmental our goal should always be to strive for understanding and inclusivity. Human nature is not made up of clones. We are not naturally robotic. Each of us thinks, learns, and lives in the ways that work best for our specific needs. We should honor our differences as long as they do not maliciously hurt each other. If we keep in mind that we are each unique by design our theme of life will be open and welcoming of the many ideas that make our world vital and exciting. Some among us will have step by step rules, others will be as free as the wind. All of us are wonderful. When we acknowledge that we will be on our way to happier and more productive ways of living.