Righteous, Indeed

What does “good” mean? If you ask Webster, or any other dictionary, you will see a laundry list of different uses that all boil down to righteousness, satisfaction, high quality, and moral virtuality. Typically, it is seen as the polar opposite of bad or evil. Therefore, in order to begin to choose or understand good, one must first learn the knowledge of good and evil. To be able to understand the relationship of the polar opposites, is to understand the whole and in turn the parts that make it whole. Goodness is the uplifting of self and others within our community in any and every way that we know how.

What is a “deed”? A deed is an action that is performed intentionally and consciously. That is: exercising wisdom in applying the knowledge of good and evil in every choice that is made with the awareness of what may be the result of our action.

Then what is a “good deed”? By definition, a good deed would be an conscious action that would uplift, satisfy, make right, add quality, or moral virtue to a person, place, or thing. This could be as simple as: holding the door for the person behind you; verbally or financially recognizing and appreciating someone else’s effort; making sure that you take the extra literal steps to avoid littering; or even volunteering your time, energy, or finances to community based organizations or being the organizer and “base” for your community.

The bottom line is, we are all going through our own struggles and battles. Therefore, whenever you get a moment of opportunity to extend a hand to someone else in need, make the connection. It’s electric! It re-energizes both parties: meaning, the recipient and the donator both benefit from the exchange.

Back in 2000, the movie “Pay it Forward”, starring Kevin Spacey and Haley Joel Osment, was released and even as a ten year old at the time, that movie illustrated the reciprocal dominoe affect of repaying good deeds done for you by, in turn, doing good deeds for others. The contagiousness of this seemingly never ending cycle is, ironically, somewhat of a cure to the seemingly never ending cycle of negativity in which most people are locked.

Be the key. Free your neighbor—and, in turn, free yourself!

Remember: it is easy to do what is right or good when there is some degree of surveillance to the action in question. What does this mean? Well, it is easy to keep your hand out of the cookie jar when you know that there is a camera surveiling the countertop where it sits. Meaning, that the real work comes when good is done out of pure will and outside of the need of recognition or praise. That means that without the camera, you still don’t take from the cookie jar without asking, and you don’t ask for a reward for not stealing from the cookie jar. You do what it right—merely because it is right.

So, I encourage you—I challenge you to erect the first domino in the pay it forward chain of event. In fact, start a new one every chance you get—don’t wait until something is done for you and then you’re only doing it as a reaction or a response. Be proactive. Be kind. Be courageous. Be brave. Be bold. Be good—in all of your deeds.

Peace and many thanks.

—Cameron Marquis

“There is honor in being a ‘work-n-progress’ but it lies in the ‘work-n-progress’.”

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