If the criteria for being a “good” man seems to be a moving target, go back almost 2000 years and you’ll find nothing much has changed.
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“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.” ~Marcus Aurelius
He died on March 17, 180 AD. That’s 1835 years (and five days) ago. And yet, when I read Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations I find myself nodding at his challenge (which, although he directed it at men, applies to all genders.)
Stop arguing. That’s a waste of time. Be.
Because I think, in our hearts, we all know what good means. Outside of social context, outside of religious context, outside of historical context, I think we know. In fact, most of the argument we waste our time on, when it comes to defining the criteria for “good” has to do with social context, religious context, or historical context. And if “good” isn’t “good” outside of those contexts then it isn’t really good, is it?
So how do we stop wasting time on arguing and begin to be?
Begin your day focused on good.
When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.
Be good to others just because.
We ought to do good to others as simply as a horse runs, or a bee makes honey, or a vine bears grapes season after season without thinking of the grapes it has borne.
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Be your best, if you’ve been injured that is revenge enough.
The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.
Find good in yourself.
Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if thou wilt ever dig.
Find good in the world.
Life is neither good or evil, but only a place for good and evil.
Find good in your life.
It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.
If we already know what it means to be “good” why do we read the advice of others? Because it helps us clarify our compass settings, because sometimes it reminds us of where we have gone off course, and sometimes it lifts us up to know there are others on our path. So, just in case it helps another good soul out there I’ve shared the “wisdom of the ages,” and also my own checklist, my compass if you will, for correcting my course as I go along my way.
Did you love good? Did I give love and energy to that which I see as good? Did I give good to that which I love? Or did I get caught up in the mundane and neglect the good that I love and the good that needs love?
Did you think good? Did I think good thoughts today? Not just about good things, or happy things, but positive, productive thoughts that will invite good into my life and the world. Or did I get trapped in fear and paranoia, did I despair because everything seemed too much, did I allow the limitations of time, space, and body to create limitations of belief and hope?
Did you do good? Did I treat all people as inherently valuable, did I care for myself and others in a way that will support our physical and spiritual lives, did I contribute to leaving this world a better place, did I create something of value today? Or did I waste my day in activities that serve no one, myself or anyone else, on the mistaken notion that I “had” to get those things done or because I’ve formed a habit of doing those things and that habit continues long after the good is gone out of it?
Did you sow good? Did I plant some seeds that may bring about good at some later date? A smile here, a warm word there, a challenge extended to someone who cannot hear me today but may reflect on my words and find that hope and love are taking root. Or did I scatter pain and self-pity, judgment and discrimination?
Did you help good? Did I give my assistance to others who are being good, doing good, loving good, sowing good? Did I do my best to lift them up with my words, contribute with my ideas, my efforts, my financial abundance? Or did I leave it to someone else to help where I could have been of benefit?
If it were a “pass/fail” test I would fail. Often. But it isn’t. It’s a compass, a way of correcting course before I lose sight of goal. Ultimately, good can only be understood by being and becoming, and failing sometimes along the way.
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Photo: Flickr/Peter Hunter