Being good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE83JKuLCJI&t=1s

Pondering over the next transcendental I don’t wonder why goodness is considered one of the most important human values. It’s something that people have always striven for motivated by their inner needs and feelings, as well as by the religious or cultural impacts. However, I wonder why people sometimes perceive goodness differently and why some individuals choose not to adhere to it.

I strongly believe we all have been created the way to know and recognize what is good and what’s not. It’s simply within our nature, it’s a calling we all have. But despite the fact that most of us have a quite similar understanding of goodness, people still tend to define the concept a bit differently. I suppose, there is one reason behind the differing perspective – it’s the influence that society has on us, which is the upbringing we receive from our families and schools as well as the culture and religion we live in. For instance, while a Muslim woman will consider showing her hair publicly as something highly inappropriate, a European girl will never think about it as a source of anything evil. And while some Christians will consider eating meat on Fridays as a sin, most of the world will not feel guilty about it. And there are much more such examples to confirm that it’s just the culture and religion that has sometimes such a profound impact on the way we perceive goodness and some other truths about life.

So, is there a universal understanding of goodness? An inner feeling that people all over the world may have in relation to the ultimate goodness? I believe that yes, we all have it written on our hears by the One who has created us; or in other words – our conscience is there to let us know what is good and what’s not. No matter the culture and the religion we live in. Although it is really tough to look further beyond the concepts and beliefs one has been being taught for their whole life. Sometimes it’s like breaking chains of the misconceptions we have had for many years. Many people stick to the truths they have been said by others not questioning them at all. However, I believe that it’s absolutely worth seeking the one ultimate truth, and therefore - true goodness. Even though the religions we follow are generally good, they are not the complete answers to the ultimate concepts of the truth and goodness. But because of the difficulty of the venture which is seeking the answers on your own, we should somehow stick to the rules we know. For me, personally, these are the 10 commandments. I know they are there for us to understand and practice goodness, or more importantly – to avoid doing evil. Because sometimes, on different stages of our lives, we may get lost not knowing what is good or bad, not being able to hear the inner voice of conscience.

However, what is the goodness? The very first idea that comes to my mind is a very simple principle – it’s not to hurt others and yourself to begin with. It may seem small, but it holds great significance. And then, following the Jesus’ teaching I’ve been trying to stick to is to be there for others – to feed the hungry ones, to look after the sick and invite the ones who need it. To be helpful and kind, despite the fact that it’s not always easy. Choosing goodness has been my inner calling for as long as I can remember. So that I really deeply struggle to understand why some people decide not to choose goodness being selfish and egoistic. Why do some harm and exploit others? And they seem to be blind to the suffering they cause to others. Probably there are many answers to the issue that I am personally afraid to understand and accept. Maybe my somewhat childlike nature prefers to believe that there’s still more goodness than evil in the people of the world. Surely there’s a lot of truth in the statement I heard once – hurt people hurt people. There are so many psychically wounded people around us. Most of the time we just have no idea what others are going through, what demons they may fight with. So maybe this is the reason why most of us hurt others missing goodness at the same time. Not because we want to do so, but because we sometimes lack the strength to always be good when our own wounds hurt too much. I’m not able to imagine any other reasons for not being good, even though I’m well aware they exist. However, I do believe each man has been created and born inherently good. Maybe it’s just the world that changes humans so much.

Finishing the short ponderation, it’s needed to be said that goodness – as the truth – is one of the most complex issue that thinkers have always striven to understand. But beyond understanding it, there’s a need to take action on it. I do strongly believe in the necessity of being always good. Of choosing the rightness each one time. We are created inherently good, and we must always seek our inner calling to guide us toward ultimate goodness. Despite the world is like yin and yang, containing the good and evil that affect people all the time, often leading to doom. Our prime task in this life is to repel evil and pursue good as much as we only can, becoming the best version of ourselves. Because the goodness we do matters. It matters here, on the rough planet we live in and mostly – it will matter later on, when we finish our humanly journey here and go to the other side. We’ll see ourselves doing all the little acts of goodness, supporting others in various ways – sharing food, supporting someone with kind words, helping them without expecting anything in return, or simply sharing our precious time and energy with someone. We’ll see the inner fight for not hurting others and always deciding to be kinder. Only the love we have and give others will matter then.