3 not so conventional reasons to do good

Sometimes, it’s hard to be good. Let’s face it, the world is not all sunshine and rainbows. In the words of Rocky, it is a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.

It is a tough reality, but it is indeed reality. Not all stories have happy endings, not everyone finds their soulmate, not all children get to eat. Again, it is tough.

Now if you are reading this, you might be thinking why a supposedly upbeat and positive short story starts with such a heavy and pessimistic approach. Well, for starters, it is because I want it to be raw. There is a lot of darkness in the world. But what I often see in my daily life, is that there is also a lot of good. So much good I could easily see it overwhelming everything that’s bad at some point. I don’t know if it can indeed, or even if it will ever happen, but there is a chance. And if there is a chance, we should keep trying. In the words of Gandalf, the grey, it’s the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of love and kindness.

Trying to do what is right doesn’t always feel right. It is a weird sensation we’ve gotten accustomed to. If you find a wallet that belongs to a rich man, would you take the one-hundred-dollar bill in there to feed your children? There will always be people on both sides. It is right to return the wallet fully, or it is right to feed your children, especially because that money will not make a single difference in the rich man’s life. You see, it is situations like this that show us just how complicated life is. It’s hard to get to one final truth, almost for anything.

Life is complex and it should be treated like so. Not everything is, as they say, black and white. To sheer kindness is to make oneself vulnerable. There are people out there that will use any opportunity to get ahead, even if it means hurting others on the way.

Pretty discouraging stuff so far, am I right?

Well, not exactly. Go back to Gandalf’s words and you will see what I believe to be the most on-point thing he ever said. What you do matters. Kindness is not a one-time powerful moment people have. Nor is a one-time huge donation from an even bigger corporation, that is doing only for advertising reasons to start with. Kindness is on the small acts. The ones we do each and every day. It is holding the door for the next person. Or the smile and positive comment to that retail worker that certainly is not having the best day. Or the volunteer work one does for an hour or so in their spare time. I am not sure if this analogy fits perfectly here, but kindness is a marathon, not a race. Except, there is no end nor a goal. We don’t do what we do expecting something in return. We do it because it is in our nature.

Or is it?

According to a BBC Earth article, possibly the two most famous opposing views on this debate are those of Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Hobbes describes humans as ‘nasty’ and ‘brutish’, needing society and rules to reign in their instincts in order to thrive; later Rousseau openly criticized him, arguing instead that man would be gentle and pure without the corruption of greed and inequality caused by the class system imposed by our society.

It is one of those questions we might never get an answer to it. I chose to believe in Rousseau’s approach. We have instincts, like any other animal, but we do have something more. Something that comes along with our capacity for thinking deeply, analytically, and critically. Our capacity for good. I truly believe that there is good in all of us. Some just chose to completely ignore that part of them. That’s where I usually like to point out the selfish argument to be good. Yes, there is one.

THE SELFISH ARGUMENT

To understand this, all you need to think about is the potential people have. When you see a baby, neither you nor I know what they will become once they grow old. Of course, we can guess. A doctor, lawyer, teacher, athlete. There can be many guesses, but we don’t really think about outside-of-the-box stuff. What if that baby will find the cure for cancer? Or invent something that will eradicate hunger in the world? Granted those are hard things to do, but people do hard things all the time. Just google some of our greatest accomplishments as a civilization and you will agree with me.

That is where the selfish argument to be good comes in. Do you know how many children younger than five die every day? Fifteen thousand. Yes, you read it right. Fifteen thousand children under five die every day. Do you see where I am going with this? Do you realize how much potential we are wasting? How much good and progress we are missing out on? Well, that is the selfish argument for you. Help others because it will most definitely help you. Give back.

BIG THINGS HAVE SMALL BEGINNINGS

The domino effect always was something that interested me. Watching things happen, one after the other, because of the previous action is very intriguing in a way. When I picture a literal domino set being aligned one after the other, I can’t wait to see the final result. People come up with such interesting ways to arrange them. Just look at this one, for instance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo6x4eulY9g&ab_channel=Hevesh5

Amazing right? Well, to me it is. A very slight and often small action, perpetuating a chain of events that becomes bigger and bigger. And all started with that first little tap on the first domino piece. This brings me to the increasingly good argument. Sometimes we may feel like what we do is not much. That is discouraging, I know. When we think our actions don’t have a great effect on the world. I know that because I know most of us want to do good. We just don’t feel like starting small. This argument right here just implies that whatever you do, don’t assume it will be the end of it. When you help someone, for example, carry their groceries to their car. You noticed they are older and are struggling. It takes you less than a minute, most likely, to help them. That act in itself might have brightened that person’s day. Not only she will be in a better mood from then on, inclined to do more good things for other people, but also you could make a friend. Who knows? After all, every one of our friends started out as a stranger. Even our significant others. We never know how much good could come from a simple action, but the potential is immense. So do the small deeds that Gandalf talked about. Help keep darkness at bay.

DOING GOOD FEELS GOOD

Well, that is a no-brainer. Not much to say here, honestly. I am sure many of you can relate. The feeling we get when helping someone is just… different. It is not only joy or satisfaction. It’s a mixture of both and neither at the same time. It is its own feeling. Summarizing it, it is amazing.

Whether you want to do good things because it is convenient, or because it makes you feel good, or even because you want to be noticed, doesn’t matter that much honestly. Intentions are important, but to build a better world I think any reason is a good reason, as long as kindness is being spread. Our planet is an already amazing place to live, but I surely believe that it can get better. Much better. It all depends on us. There is no one coming to help. It is up to us to take action, now.

Do good, feel good.