It is a slippery slope when trying to live up to other people’s standards. This is an impossible proposition for 1) hard to control other people’s mind and 2) easy to lose one’s own bearing in the process. Instead, I believe in living and following my own callings.
Having said that, I do recognize that we don’t live in a vacuum. There are rules, norms, and standards of the externals that when choosing to be a part of, we are subject to them. Examples include membership requirement, community standards, and citizen obligations.
But not everything is or can be spelled out. In fact, I discover more are in the gray than what is black & white. Where to draw the line becomes an individual choice.
I live in a suburban community with quiet streets, nice neighbors, and good schools. People take care of their properties in terms of the upkeep and maintenance. For the most parts, the surrounding presents a mature and established neighborhood.
Here is a case in point with the conformity concept. One neighbor’s mailbox which is bolted to a wooden post is drooping or leaning. To some the degree of drooping has become an eyesore. But the homeowner, and maybe the mail delivery person, feels the mailbox poses no problem.
How upright should the mailbox be? Where do we draw the line?
Running with Buddha 