Through one of my children I became fascinated by the TV show, “Dr. Who.” This show is about a character who is a Time Lord. This person travels through time and space. Accompanying him on his adventures is one or more companions.
In one of the episodes I watched there was a question that Dr. Who was often asking his companion. “Am I a good (person),” he asked repeatedly. At the end of the episode his companion answered him. The response, which has stuck with me, went something like this. “You keep asking if you are a good person. I don’t really know whether you are or not. But, I think you want to be. And that it is what is important.”
This exchange has intrigued me ever since hearing it.
It is my belief that every one of us is born with an inherent desire to be good. There will be a multitude of factors that either encourage or inhibit us from fulfilling this basic desire. I am convinced that the more we fulfill this desire the more satisfied we will be with our lives.
In order to achieve goodness I suggest there are at least three factors that we must continually be making mindful, deliberate effort to incorporate into our lives to enhance wise choices. I would also like to say that by the term good I am talking about a wish for the wellbeing of other people.
We must be willing to view people and the world in an objective manner. It is so easy and natural to assume that the best thing for everyone is completely in line with what I perceive to be the best thing for me and those like me. I have come to see, however, that this is not always the case. There are times in which continuing to maintain things in a way that make me feel comfortable and at ease are, in fact, promoting a system that puts others at a disadvantage. Without an ability and willingness to consider the welfare of humanity as a whole I cannot make the best choices in being good.
We must also be willing to continually evaluate our actions and the beliefs/reasons for them. More importantly, we need to always be open to the possibility that the beliefs and reasons guiding our actions may be wrong. It can be so hard to admit that we are wrong. To do so throws our world out of kilter. We think admitting being wrong is a sign of weakness. It can be a tough emotional pill to swallow. It can go against what we were taught by friends, family, and mentor figures that we love dearly. But without a continual willingness to evaluate our actions and their causes we cannot make better choices.
The final factor that I suggest we must be committed to in order to make better choices is a willingness to change. Recognizing that we are wrong, while vitally important, is only part of the battle. Unless we are willing to make changes in light of recognizing where we have been wrong we will never be wiser and more helpful in our actions. Actually changing can be as hard or harder than admitting being wrong. It is hard to break old patterns of thinking and acting. Doing so may also cause a negative change in our relationship with those we love.
You and I are created to be good. Will we make it a daily goal to think and act in wise, mindful ways which will make goodness more and more a mark of our lives.
Think about it.
You are loved. Peace.
Comments