Author: Brandy Metz, MSN, APRN, AGNP-C

Conscience

“One will easily be content and at peace, whose conscience is pure.” ~ Thomas a Kempis 

Pinocchio was my favorite Disney movie as a kid. I’m told I used to say “Poor Nochi” every time Pinnochio got into trouble. And he got into a lot of it. Meeting bad company. Repeatedly being led astray. Ignoring his conscience. Tumbling into unfortunate circumstances. The more he tried to deceive himself, the worse his consequences grew. He defied his conscience and became a marionette, and was turned into an ass on pleasure island. He was ill-equipped, naive, and didn’t listen to his appointed conscience. Therefore, he learned his lessons the hard way. Eventually, Pinnochio became heroic and faced the whale of his problems. He died in the process. But magically, he was saved and transformed into a real boy and granted another opportunity to live a new life. It’s such a relatable story. Tale as old as time. 

 “Somebody gets into trouble, then gets out of it again. People love that story. They never get tired of it.’” ~ Vonnegut

Without the intervention of the Fairy Godmother, Pinnochio would have been a tragedy. But because he eventually proved himself to be brave, truthful, and unselfish, he was given a second chance. In all of her benevolence, grace, and wisdom, she repeated the only instructions she ever gave him: “Always let your conscience be your guide.” ~ The Blue Fairy

Pinnochio’s story is everyone’s story. What’s led you astray? What bad circumstances did you tumble into? What lies did you try to get away with? What consequences did you suffer? What’s your whale? Did you face it? Did it change you? Did you learn to listen to your conscience? 

“Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.” George Washington

Whatever you call your Jiminy Cricket, your conscience, your gut, your inner voice, your instinctive understanding, your moral intuition.. that is your guide. Listen to whatever it is within you that is telling you right from wrong. Wherever it’s coming from. It may speak softly, and you may try to drown it out, but it will not be silenced. It knows things, and it will not rest. It’s your very own built-in navigation system. All it wants to do is keep you on the right path. It knows the way. It’s the only way it’s programmed for. If you want to stay on the straight and narrow path of goodness, follow it. If you ignore it, it will alert you to turn around to get back on track. It will never stop warning you if you are on the wrong path. It is trying to protect you from danger and steer you away from bad destinations and dead ends. You have free will to get as lost as you want, but your conscience will continue to try to re-route you back to good. No matter how much you evade it or how many wrong turns you take, your conscience always knows the way to lead you back to truth and right. 

A conscience is that still small voice that people wont listen to. That’s just the trouble with the world today.” ~ Jiminy Cricket

So many things in the world want to lead us in the wrong direction. It’s easy to get lost when we allow so many mixed messages to interfere with our internal moral compass. The world is full of “Honest Johns” who will have you believe that the wrong way is the right way. The world glamorizes serving yourself at the expense of others. People disrespect each other, violate each other, hurt each other, and value money and power over integrity and goodness. People lie, cheat, and steal and pride themselves on doing it well. They seek to take advantage of others. The more they are able to take, the more gratified they are. People sell their conscience for instant temporary material and personal gain and consider it a win. They seek to manipulate, dominate, and control others. The more others submit to their tyranny, the more empowered they feel. They sell their conscience for a false feeling of temporary self-importance. People will seek attention and boast and broadcast all sorts of shameful things to get a reaction out of other people. People seek indulgence in all the wrong temptations, at the expense of themselves and others. The world romanticizes vanity, fame, greed, hedonism, power, dominance, deception, and chaos. The world tells you that these things will satisfy you. These things will bring you happiness. And people buy it. They sell themselves for temporary instant gratification. And they convince themselves this is a good deal. At the low low cost of your morality and sense of better judgment, depravity be yours. 

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” ~ Matthew 16:26

It is a trap. The ultimate bait and switch. There is no happiness to be found at the expense of your conscience. There are strings attached. Do not follow the masses into corruption. Do not drink the kool-aide. Your conscience is your moral compass and the only thing you should be following. Your conscience protects the light of your soul. You betray yourself every time you try to barter it. You diminish yourself. You rob yourself of your own light. You darken your own soul. Darkness is the absence of light. The more you think you get away with, the less of yourself you have. You gain nothing and lessen the very essence of yourself. Ignore your conscience.. it’ll be fun they said…

“Your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing.” ~ Fyodor Dovstoevsky

People who have defied and defiled their conscience and repeatedly commit atrocities against others, commit the greatest atrocity against themselves. They have no real joy. They cannot look at themselves in the mirror. They cannot sleep at night. They have no inner peace. They are tortured souls. Darkened indeed. “Everybody, sooner or later, sits down to a banquet of consequences.” ~ Robert L. Stevenson. You can ignore your conscience, but you cannot get away from it. You can act against it. But it knows what you did. And it will haunt you. Your soul knows right from wrong. No matter how you try to justify yourself or deceive yourself. Your conscience knows truth. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. That still small voice is fighting for the light within you. It is trying to save you from yourself. Listen. To knowingly choose wrong is to descend into darkness. And you will suffer what you suffer. The exact sufferings your conscience tried to warn you about. 

“All men make mistakes. But a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.” ~ Sophocles

You can always change your ways. You can always choose light over darkness. You can always get back on the right path. Your conscience knows the way. Stop trying to convince yourself wrong is right. You know better. Face the truth. Stop fighting with yourself. Stop going against your moral compass. Silence the outside influences that divide you from yourself and mislead you. Stop selling yourself for fools gold. You only lessen yourself and what you could be. Listen to your conscience. Let it lead you back to the right way. Let it speak. Attune to it. The more you abide, the clearer it becomes. That still small voice is your greatest ally. It’s your own personal inner lighthouse to warn you of danger and guide you to safe harbors. Your conscience is the protector of all that is good and sacred within you. You protect it, and it will protect you. Everytime you choose right, you take your light back. 

“Don’t act against your conscience or against truth. Live like this and you shall fulfill the task of your life.” ~ Marcus Aurelius. 

When you honor your conscience, you save your soul from darkness. Your conscience is your guide to inner peace, joy, and radiance. A clear conscience is the highest good. When you choose to do the right things, your light is intact. You know you’re on the right path. Your soul is at peace. There is no division in yourself. You are whole. You are light and free. You can sleep well at night. You like yourself. You experience lasting joy that is only available to a clear conscience. You are true to yourself. You become brave, truthful, unselfish, and real. When you are in alignment with what is right, your authenticity shines through you. Your mind is at ease. Your heart is content. Your intentions are pure. It is well with your soul. You are in harmony with life and all that is good. It is heaven on earth. Your conscience knows the way out of the dark and into the light. Let your conscience guide you, always.