"We sit together at the table. I turn the question over in my mind for a moment, but then I can't help myself.
"Mom, what does the word 'ethics' mean to you?"
She takes off her glasses, leans back in her chair, and rests her hands in her lap.
"Ethics, to me, is about relationships — with myself, with others, and with what arises between us.
It doesn't mean being 'good,' but being truthful in what I do, even when it's uncomfortable.
Sometimes it means staying, sometimes leaving, and sometimes simply not intervening.
There are situations where no clear answer exists — only an inner compass, which I learn to read slowly, often only in hindsight.
It shows up in small things, in the tone of voice, in decisions that often go unseen."
She sits for a while, letting her words settle, then leans back over her work.
And it occurs to me that the meaning of what I'm asking isn't so much in the words, but in the attitude my mother brings to it."
