Doing Good Things

Isn’t That Simple, but Worth the Effort

It doesn’t cost a cent, and it can enrich us in ways we never before dreamed. So why do we struggle to do good things? Have you ever noticed how easy it is to be the opposite; contrary and hateful?

It takes no effort at all, and that’s the point.

For many of us, to do good we have to want something very badly before making the effort. In other words, we have to make it about ourselves first, before considering taking it on. Human nature then gets in the way and tells us to take the path of least resistance.

Giving up is so easy.

So, I decided to try to do one good thing each day. Not for anyone else necessarily. Just because it is good. Well, wouldn’t you know? It’s habit-forming. I learned that from someone just recently.

I see a man in my neighborhood sometimes. He’s very old and sadly, he is stooped by his years. Rain or shine though, he walks an old dog that is identical in every way.

I said hello as he passed my front lawn one day. There was a steady drizzle, and the air possessed that English chill, the kind that gets into your bones. We get that kind of weather sometimes in Southern Ontario.

But, there he was, this elderly gentleman strolling up the sidewalk with his old dog on a leash in one hand, and carrying an umbrella in the other to keep his head dry, and somehow, he was able to bend from time to time to collect a piece of garbage that was lying on the ground.

Noting my presence on the porch, he nodded hello and confided to me, “You know, I’m out here anyway.” He paused for a long second to straighten, and then continued, “I just cannot stand to see garbage lying around, so I pick it up when I see it.”

I thanked the man for his civic pride and bid him a good day. He nodded back with the faintest of smiles, and he went on his way. I watched him for a while as he carried on up the street, stopping occasionally to collect more debris and then finally, deposit his collection into a nearby street bin.

As I thought about this poor old man I realized there was no derision in his tone, no expectation of thanks. He just figured if he was going to be out on a miserable day, he might as well make it worth his while. How easy it seemed for him, but for an able body person like me, well, what was my excuse?

Love and hate work very much the same way. If you’ve been around long enough like me to take some lumps along the way, you know that love takes work. A lot of work, but it’s always well worth every effort.

Conversely, hate is easy. So easy it seems, it catches the best of people off guard when they find themselves allowing hate to creep in. It flies around the air like a virus and ignored in much the same manner. The great interloper looms in the places where we let our senses take a breather. It’s dismissive of the empathy of others, and it rises higher when fueled by a group setting. How convenient.

Snap!

It’s that quick.

Even when we’ve been wronged, our first instinct takes us down that path of darkness. After all, for most of us, we’re the most important person in the room. “How dare you do that to me”, we think instantly.

Doing a good thing instead, however, even if it just means maintaining silence in the face of your building rage, can do wonders for your mental health.

This is not the same as the complicity of silence when others around us remain undefended. What good has ever come from a shouting match? Nobody’s listening then, anyway.

A good thing does not have to be a big thing. It doesn’t need to be a public thing. The less self-aggrandizing in fact, the better it is.

It can be done just for the sake of the doing. One thing it will do when done with regularity, and I can attest to this, it will change your outlook on life.

Don’t believe me?

Try it for a while and then tell me I’m wrong. I mean, try.

I’m not perfect. Nowhere close. I have come to realize I have no more or no fewer faults than any other human being. That means wrong occurs on both sides, and that’s where the hard part comes.

Overpowering hate with good deeds is the hardest thing we’ll ever accomplish.

Those that hate think they have an upper hand because peaceful beings seem weak. But, doing the right thing, a good thing, takes strength. The strength comes from the fact that it’s harder.

You know the phrase;

‘No pain, no gain’.

Now, what would a hater do with that?

As always, thanks for taking the time. If you enjoyed this tale then perhaps you will like another couple I recently published.