I am interested in ethics. Not just the ethics of practicing law, but the ethics of living life. When I was in college, a family member told me, “Do the right thing, and you’ll be happy.”

That is good advice. But I don’t believe that doing the right thing always makes you happy. Rather, I believe that doing the right thing makes you feel something even better. Let me explain.

Humans covet many things: money, status, material objects, people. I do not condemn those desires. But if we look underneath our desires, we may uncover that what we really want is not the object itself but the feeling we would get if we had it. And often that feeling is freedom.

The right thing is not always clear. But here’s a test I just made up, inspired by the words of Rumi:

“When you indulge a lust, your wing drops off; you become lame, abandoned by a fantasy . . . . People fancy they are enjoying themselves, but they are really tearing their wings off for the sake of an illusion.”

So, next time you are trying to determine the right course of action, ask yourself: will it make me feel more trapped? Or more free?

Doing the right thing may or may not make you happy, but it will make you feel free.

And when you fail, as we all do, take heart. To quote Rumi again: “Birds make great sky circles of their freedom. How do they learn it? They fall and in falling they’re given wings.”

Happy flying, my friends.