Honour among thieves

We’re all guilty. Of one thing or another.

Thieves know this. They see it in each other. They’re aware of their crimes.

Though are all thieves criminals?

Is someone who steals from one to give to someone less fortunate a criminal?

Or is someone more fortunate who steals from others to prop themselves up a criminal?

The former being a Robin Hood type character, the latter being an executive banker type and scam artists.

I’m not here to define what a thief is or isn’t. But I like the saying.

Honour among thieves.

It’s like namaste.

A yoga teacher once told me a rough translation of namaste is “the spirit in me recognises the spirit in you”. I’ve never looked it up to see if it’s right but it sounded right and that’s enough for me.

So I think of honour among theives as “the thief in me recognises the thief in you.”

Would you rather be friends with a thief who knows they’re a thief or someone who’s a thief but doesn’t think they are?

I know who I’d pick.

The same for any form of sin. The default is innocent until proven guilty.

How about guilty until proven innocent?

Again, we’re all guilty of something. Small or large.

The most dangerous people around are the self-proclaimed saints. The ones who appear and claim to do no wrong. Or worse, the idea of them doing or even having the potential to do wrong doesn’t cross their mind.

How could you know you were doing good if you’d never done wrong?

I’m no advocate for wrongdoing (however you define this), no no no. But I am an advocate for knowing the potential one has for doing good or evil. After all, one implies the other.

With such knowledge you begin to know what you’re capable of, instead of shying away from it. You become more critical of your actions and what happens to you.

Not only can you decide whether to be the Robin Hood or executive banker type character, you can detect when one of these comes into your life.

Remember though, the saying honour among thieves only applies to thieves who know they’re thieves.

It’s a code to prevent one thief from incriminating another (see Omertà for the Mafia). A group of people who know their own weaknesses and limitations but also the weaknesses and limitations of their peers.

More succinctly, don’t snitch. And be aware your capacity for doing wrong is just as much as your capacity for doing good.

As for the ones who don’t realise they’re thieves (or talking BS without knowing they’re talking BS), let them know, let everyone know.

Only once a thief knows they’re a thief can they start to adhere to the code.

And before you recognize someone else as a thief (or having the potential to be one) you must recognize yourself as being one (or having the potential to be one) too.