Goodness

“Goodness consists not in the outward things we do, but in the inward thing we are. To be good is the great thing.” So said Edwin H. Chapin and this is a thought that I respond to.

It is very easy to show off being kind and thoughtful to others but it is what springs from the heart that really matters. The proverb “to forgive and forget” is actually very deep in meaning if one really ponders it. I am a very literal person and when I am asked to forgive and forget I have a hard time with the process because I feel that one must truly forget what happened and that is really hard for me. So inside myself I will feel like a hypocrite or a bad person because I cannot go that extra bit to forget even though I have forgiven the deed.

One sees celebrities associated with one cause or another and that can be a great thing, when it brings awareness such as Elizabeth Taylor’s championing of AIDS awareness or Audrey Hepburn’s work with UNICEF. But oftentimes celebrities are actually paid to make appearances for charities and then it is just an outward show of goodness. Quiet acts of kindness are more genuine because they spring from a generous heart and require no fanfare.

Interestingly there is a campaign running this summer on radio and television about doing one act of kindness every day. I wonder what the success rate is? I remember as a girl guide we had to do a good deed every day and I freely confess that has gone by the wayside a long, long time ago! But the advertising on the radio talks about a little thing like holding the door open for someone and isn’t it sad that we have to be reminded to do something so simple?

It’s a wonder we have any claims to civilization when I contemplate the enormous amount of excuses a person can come up with for not doing the right thing, the kind thing or a good thing. As a child one seems to be naturally good but as we grow into adulthood and beyond we become hardened about the little courtesies of life. Once we start to lose good manners the next step is to lose the sense of being good. One loses a generosity of spirit.

So if we lose the outward signs of goodness, will it reflect on what is inside that is good?