Every home should adopt three principles, that should not be broken. What is the difference between a principle and a rule? The following story illustrates this very well.
A ship was coming home after a long trip, and the crew and captian were happy they were only a short distance from home. Suddenly there was a blinking light ahead, directly in the path of the ship. This angered the captain and he ordered his crew to send a message using the morris code and blinking the message "please move out of my path". The blinking light in front of the large ship appeared to ignore the signal and did not move. The captain became a bit more angry and ordered his crew to send the message a second time. Nothing happened and the light in front of the large ship kept blinking away. Finally the captain ordered his crew to send the following message: "I am the captain of a large ship and I tell my crew what to do and they do it. Now we have been away for a long time so get out of my way". Suddenly, there appeared a second light smaller that the blinking one that flashed back this message: "I am a lighthouse, I can't move". Needless to say, the ship changed course!
The ship can be thought of as the rule. Under normal conditions, the rule is the law but if that rule isn't guided by principles, illustrated in this example by the lighthouse, it will run into trouble every time.
So the three principles that every home should adopt. Remember, principles can't be changed and have to be made carefully.
1. Don't hurt yourself.
2. Don't hurt others.
3. Don't hurt my property or other personal property.
All the rules of the house can be centered around these three principles. This will save a lot of arguments if these principles can be adopted at a early age. We want children to grow up on principles not rules.
A ship was coming home after a long trip, and the crew and captian were happy they were only a short distance from home. Suddenly there was a blinking light ahead, directly in the path of the ship. This angered the captain and he ordered his crew to send a message using the morris code and blinking the message "please move out of my path". The blinking light in front of the large ship appeared to ignore the signal and did not move. The captain became a bit more angry and ordered his crew to send the message a second time. Nothing happened and the light in front of the large ship kept blinking away. Finally the captain ordered his crew to send the following message: "I am the captain of a large ship and I tell my crew what to do and they do it. Now we have been away for a long time so get out of my way". Suddenly, there appeared a second light smaller that the blinking one that flashed back this message: "I am a lighthouse, I can't move". Needless to say, the ship changed course!
The ship can be thought of as the rule. Under normal conditions, the rule is the law but if that rule isn't guided by principles, illustrated in this example by the lighthouse, it will run into trouble every time.
So the three principles that every home should adopt. Remember, principles can't be changed and have to be made carefully.
1. Don't hurt yourself.
2. Don't hurt others.
3. Don't hurt my property or other personal property.
All the rules of the house can be centered around these three principles. This will save a lot of arguments if these principles can be adopted at a early age. We want children to grow up on principles not rules.
