Man Feeding Gulls
Introduction
If you look at my “2015 Preview”, three bullets from the bottom of the list is the title of this post. Off we go, but first a bit of an introduction to my writing process.
Starting with a blank sheet of paper (actually it’s on-screen) and trying to figure it out is interesting. It makes you appreciate all those movies and TV episodes about a writer sitting and staring at a blank sheet of paper for hours, with nary a word on the page. What’s that called, even successful writers suffer from writer’s block.
It’s not something I fret about – it’s part of the process for me in deciding where is the best place to start and where do I want to go with this idea. OK, yes, sometimes it’s an idea that’s been rattling around in my head for a while. Doesn’t Gibb’s have a “rule” for this situation?
I decided Number 5 was the closest to what I wanted to say in this blog post. It says “You don’t waste good.”
OK, so I’m a goody two shoes, coming up with this goodness idea, it doesn’t fit in contemporary society, right! Big deal, no matter what the mainstream media would have you believe, just listen to Don Henley’s song (any Eagle’s fans out there?), you can form your own opinion. So, if you’re a naysayer, move on, you don’t have to read my blog, but I wish you would read it.
Dirty Laundry
Here’s the back-story. One of my New Year’s resolutions was “try to do at least one good deed a day”. Without hesitation I will say that I’m WAY behind on that goal. But hang on, there is a parallel concept – I need to synthesize good deeds with this whole goodness theme. In very basic terms, the concept is “goodness counts” or “goodness is important” or “goodness is unselfish”.
Real Life Good Deeds
How about some examples. Thanks to Reader’s Digest for the following cover story in their July/August 2015 edition. Be patient with this link.
There are actually 13 examples in the Reader’s Digest stories – starting with a woman in Chicago who helped to resettle teen girls from other countries to the story about a man in California who helped bring a beach back to life. Yes, those were amazing things that the 13 people did, giving of themselves to help others. Even a story (#10) about a librarian in Ferguson, Missouri. Why does Ferguson, Missouri ring a bell? Oh, isn’t that where all the riots were happening last year (and again this year)? How did the media miss covering the story about what the librarian did in Ferguson? They must have focused on other things that were happening. Oops, sorry, I couldn’t resist a dig on media bias in the good ole USA.
OK, let’s focus in on goodness from the perspective of discovering goodness in our own lives, each one of us, by NOT focusing on ourselves. There is a higher power – for me that would be God – that should drive our purpose in life. I know that runs counter to what many of us learned from day 1, that we should decide what we want to be, what to do with our lives, set goals, be ambitious, dream about our future. All of this focuses on ourselves. Obviously the 13 people in the Reader’s Digest stories were not focusing on themselves. Maybe just a bit of a digression to examine basic meanings of good and goodness.
Definitions and Examples from Merriam-Webster
The quality or state of being good such as:
The quality or state of being kind, honest, generous, helpful, etc.
- I believe there is (some) goodness in everyone.
- Even if you don’t agree, at least have the goodness to be polite!
- She agreed to help him out of the goodness of her heart (because she is a kind and generous person).
People use I swear to goodness, I hope to goodness, or I wish to goodness to add force to a statement.
I wish to goodness that you would hurry up!
You get the idea. Goodness can take many forms and have many applications.
Bottom Line
Did I, the blogger writing this blog, do a good deed today? I’m thinking. Nope, but there’s always tomorrow. It doesn’t have to be a major act like the everyday heroes in the examples. Maybe something simple, let a person get in line in front of you at the grocery store or someone is stuck trying to break into a long line of traffic (maybe they’re late for a job interview), or whatever. There is a vast ocean of opportunities out there, give it a shot, do a good deed today!
Off the Kauai Coast
Blackbird
By the Beatles of course, short and sweet. I don’t know which Beatle wrote this tune, but I’ve always liked it.
blazinbernie
Looking for a Rufous 