Good morning, By My Side friends.
Happy New Year to you all.
I know that usually this month of January we often talk about New Years resolutions. Today, I thought I would focus on something a little different for us to look at to reflect upon for this coming year. What it means to be a good person. Simple, right? We all think we are good people so this should be a no brainer. I thought I would take this notion a little deeper for us all to ponder while beginning this new year 2023.
Right now, we live in a confused culture. We live in a time that proclaims good things to be bad and bad things to be good, or that there is no such thing as bad and good. But our eternal soul knows that good and bad have always been at odds in this world and are often at odds in our own hearts. There is no need to allow the confusion of our times to cloud the vision of our souls.
We have a natural desire to be good people. As well we have other desires too. We also yearn for those we love to be good people too. We don’t talk about it enough but goodness is essntial to a healthy sense of self and thriving relationships.
So what is a good person? Simple question, but in our quest for wisdom let’s seek the bigger question. All too often we settle for lesser questions. Ex: How do I become sucessful? The bigger question is: What is success? These bigger questions allow us to answer questions more wholistically.
So the bigger question is: What is a person? A person is an individual human being, a child of God, uniqely created by God and of infinite value. Matthew Kelly says that our philosophy of life is drawn from and can be traced back to the answer to this question. This question impacts our worldview and also leads us to God as well as a complete understanding of who we are as individuals and who we are together.
So, who are you? You are a unique child of God, you are a unique being with so much value. Human beings are capable of astounding goodness. The reason is because God has loved us first and has placed His capacity for good inside of us. Now that we have the answer to what is a human being, we can turn our attention to the question: what is a good person?
A good person strives to be honest, humble, generous, responsible, empathetic, selfless, patient, kind, moral, courageous, ethical and greatful. These are 12 qualities of a good person. There are many more as well.
A wise man once said, “You are in the presence of goodness when someone is happy for another person’s success or good fortune.”
I think that as we get older it’s a good thing to reflect upon our past lives and see how we’ve done in the goodness category. No need to wallow in self pity if goodness is hard to see in ourselves.
Remember, you are not what has happened to you. You are more than the worst thing you have ever done. Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. Perhaps now, this year, 2023, is the time to intentionally flood your life with goodness. Perhaps we need to get ourselves out of the way. It’s never too late to start working harder towards goodness towards others.
Perhaps, consider flooding your mind with goodness by reading books that elevate you. Flood your soul with goodness by developing the habit of prayer and other spiritual practices. Flood your relationships with goodness by embracing the 12 qualities above. Unleash a tidal wave of goodness in this world every chance you get by creating Holy Moments.
The good we do never dies, it lives on forever – in other people, in other places and in other times. When someone dies, people often say, “He is so smart”, or “She has achieved great things.” Perhaps, let this be said about you, “He was a good man,” or “She was a good woman.” Let goodness be your legacy. (From “the Fourth Quarter Of Your Life”. By Matthew Kelly).
A little food for thought to kick off 2023. Love, MJ xo
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