thoughts...

so im still figuring stuff out for Thailand. preparation for this trip is really making me evaluate myself and things going on around me. the biggest things is simply that i want to rid my life of "clutter". this is driving me to try and sell everything i own and don’t use more than once a year on craigslist.com .

but today i simply wanted to ask 2 questions...
1. Must we repeat the things that have been demonstrated and taught to us by those that went before us, or is there a possibility to change/improve upon those things?
-I was slapped in the face (not in reality a human slap) today when i confronted someone on an issue i have seen with them. after the conversation in which i tried to wipe the speck out of my friends eye i realized that i had a log in my own eye. i was doing the very thing to those people around me that this person was doing, and i had the audacity to criticize him for it!
consider me put in my place.
as an encouragement to all those in internet land that may one day read this, simply take 5 mins and look at yourself very carefully before confronting anyone on anything you think they may be doing wrong!
so back to my question... must i do the things i learned from those around me simply because they are now imbedded in my mind, or may i brake away from the mold and improve upon this situation? the answer i think is to remind yourself that everyone makes mistakes and has weaknesses and you must know your own before you go pointing other peoples out to them. also, you cannot look to those around you to teach you forever, there will be a point in which your goal has to change from "i want to be like that person one day", to " i want to be better then that person one day", to finally "what that person is like doesnt matter because i know what God wants ME to be!"

2. is winning the battle over whats morally right and wrong worth losing your loved ones?
-just finished watching the movie "flash of genius" in this movie a person’s invention is stolen and another group make money off of it. the inventor sues the group and it is drawn out to a 12 year long court case.
through the course of those 12 years this inventor lost his wife and six kids. he also lost a lot of sanity. he pursued this case for 12 years and denied multiple deals offered to him simply because he wanted it stated that he was right and the group was wrong.
while this is very noble, turning away loads of money for the idea of right and wrong, is it right for a person to lose his family over it? well in the end the inventors children come to his side and help him with the case and his wife will actually speak with him, but it doesnt go further than that. also, he wins the court case and he is stated officially as being "right", but there is still immeasurable damage done to his family.
so at what point would you give in?
if your family was on the line and you were fighting a case over right and wrong, would you give in, lose recognition that something had been stolen from you, and keep your family for $100,000?
$250,000?
$1,000,000?
$10,000,000?
$30,000,000?
in the end, what is actually right and wrong in this situation? i dont know, but its something to think about and measure values against.