ON BEING GOOD

I believe that each person has a moral responsibility to become as good a human being as possible and to help others become as good as they can be.

Clearly, to do this entails knowing good from bad, which you must discern through experience and instruction.

Fundamentally, though, you soon learn that being treated kindly, gently, and lovingly is good, and that behaving likewise toward others is equally good.

Any contrary behavior—peevish, selfish, hateful, harmful—spoils loving kindness and is therefore bad.

Bad behaviors proliferate into many subtle forms of self-centeredness, rather than other-centeredness (which is the singular way of careful love).

To say all this simply and clearly is not hard when you are calm, clear-headed and contemplative.

But once your day’s business begins and people’s interests start to clash, then comes the challenge to keep charitable love in your heart and to see everyone else as worthy of your kind and gentle care, genially bestowed.

Being good is a full-time job.

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