Wear no white after Labor Day!

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall.

- Emerson

Being an immigrant to the US the rule about not wearing white after Labor Day was not something I was familiar with. This applied to a lot of cultural and legal regulations I encountered. Not feeling bound by these rules at first I was often admonished by my American friends for going against what they felt was the right way to behave. I am not against rules in essence. We need to stop at stop lights, not kill other people and not steal. Rules are well intentioned, put in place by conscientious individuals who like to see the world work in an orderly fashion and help avoid lawsuits and people being a danger to themselves and others. All good reasons to have laws and rules.

My argument with some rules is that they take away the responsibility to think for ourselves, to weigh up a situation and ask whats best for everyone here. I'm not advocating abandoning rules but I am advocating personal responsibility. People rise to the occasion the majority of the time if you believe in them. That's how its always worked for me, if you expect little of me that's what I will give, if you expect a lot I may stretch to your belief in my abilities and discover I am capable of so much more than I knew.

We are each capable of so much more than we know. Meeting life in the moment demands creativity. Consistency can be stifling. I guarantee you if the temperatures are till in the 90's after Labor Day here in Los Angeles you will find me in white linen!