MAY: Be good
It’s a simple mentality. Be good.
Good. What is good? How can one be good? And is it to yourself or to others? Or both?
There’s no definitive line, but there are examples many look to on a daily basis that can show you are a “good person.”
Holding the door for a stranger; that’s a good deed, right? Or has it become commonplace, somewhat expected? If you don’t hold the door on a cold, blustery day, the stranger may think you are a jerk. That thought doesn’t make him or her a good person either, or is that thought a slip in judgment?
A few days ago, I was driving on an unplowed street in the outskirts of Mount Pleasant. My car has low traction control, which keeps me from moving quickly in less-than-favorable weather conditions. I swerved back and forth down the road trying to keep my car moving before being run offroad by a plow truck.
That truck driver never turned around, and continued down the road without a thought of what he had done to me. I didn’t blame him, but now I was stuck.
As my friend and I began digging my car out, a smiling man appeared with his daughter in the seat next to him. He asked if he could help.
Good: morally excellent, virtuous, righteous, pious. In other terms, well-behaved, honorable, worthy, loyal, reliable, favorable. Not one of these defines "good" on its own, and even together, the terms don’t give a defined purpose to intentions we have as a human race when interacting with one another.
The man pulled a hook from his truck, showed me where to attach it to my car and dragged us 500 feet to the nearest plowed intersection.
He didn’t ask for money. He didn’t need to stop, but he did. Five minutes of his day, that is all it took. I couldn’t be more grateful.
I asked his name: Craig. I gave him a hearty handshake and he was on his way. So was I.
What I am trying to say is it’s not easy “being good.” Good deeds go unrewarded every day. You may get a thanks in passing, or a handshake upon a job well done in the office (a promotion or bonus if you’re lucky).
But good people don’t do good things to be rewarded. Good people do what they consider right according to their own values in an effort to better humanity.
All of this thought stems from one man’s good deed that made my day infinitely better, and now I am paying it forward.
People like Craig define good to me. He stops to help when someone is in need. His intentions were pure.
The community needs more people like Craig, and next time someone is stuck on the road, stop. Stop for Craig. Stop for me. Stop for yourself.
Be good.
