On Behavior

Of all the parts that create the sum of humanness, behavior is the only one observable by others.  Our thoughts are our thoughts and our emotions are our emotions, and in spite of me using the plural form for us as people (our), they are extraordinarily individualized and cannot be collectivized no matter how hard we seek to create a unified society.  I barely know my own thoughts and feelings at any given moment, and even if I chose to share those with you or anyone else, they would still be distorted because we have not yet evolved in our communicative ability to state what it is we truly (and I mean absolutely truly) think and feel from one stream of consciousness moment to the next.

Behavior, however, is the great equalizer.  It provides society with an insight into you and it provides you with insight into society at both the individual and collective level.  To the rest of us, your behavior is who you are.  If you continually smile and laugh, you are warm and friendly.  If you constantly rage and gripe, you are bitter and angry.  The world (myself included) knows you not by who you are, but by what you do.  Your behavior is the only observable trait the rest of us have to measure and judge you under any and all circumstances.

Therefore, rightly or wrongly, the way you act determines much about where you go and what you do.  It is an incomplete summation of the individual, but there are very few avenues left to us humans as we collect the data necessary to build relationships with some and reject the notion of such intercourse with others.  Thus it is important how we treat one another.  Appropriate or inappropriate behavior has long range consequences on our social circles.  Behavior also serves as a guide for bringing judgment to bear upon our neighbors.  We should reflect on potential action before it is undertaken, and we should understand that failure to do so on our part, or on the part of others, does not necessarily indicate poor quality in the realm of character.