Last update: 07 September, 2016
You may have wondered which manual good people use, what they read and where they learn to have that goodness of mind, that light that lights them up and that enhances their virtues, since it seems that their ability to listen and their ways are different from those of many others.
In reality, good people are unaware of the immense good they sow around them and can sometimes even feel low spirits due to their extreme sensitivity, an essential quality nowadays.
These are people who have many doubts and who sometimes torment themselves wondering if they are doing right or wrong. Their way of being is so pure and sincere that they are what you see, without masks, which causes that they are also an easy target for attacks.
"The only sign of superiority I know is goodness."
-Ludwing Van Beethoven-
Any reflection on our behavior is positive, but some people do not need manuals or great models to do good wherever they go: this is the most authentic meaning of goodness, which is always spontaneous and never artificial. It flows by itself as a natural virtue, it is never imposed on the basis of dogmas or norms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InIBuIrgfOE
Goodness is not to be read, only put into practice
All children have a pure soul that needs to adapt to the environment around them, with more or less patience. Our character, our biology and the context in which we grow up make us all different. As Rousseau argued, "man is good by nature, it is society that corrupts him". Maybe he wasn't all wrong.
"You will see that man's evils are the fruit of his choice, and that he seeks the source of good far from himself, when in reality he carries it in his heart."
-Pythagoras-
This innate goodness can be observed in children who can count on positive development. The child who makes his companions participate in the game, who tries to cure a wounded bird and who gives everyone hugs and smiles. A child who is often restless, but who always transmits passion and joy.
When education cancels our virtues
The high levels of violence that occur in our society should make us reflect and ask ourselves what we are doing wrong in the education of our children as that innate and spontaneous goodness turns into bitterness, frustration and violence. What spiritual and social models are we inculcating in them if, having reached a given moment of their development, they do not wish to establish emotional bonds, but only confrontations and competitions?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zGd5J9H1pE
What can we do to fuel natural goodness?
There are no strategies or personalized programs to increase goodness in a child, since it would be enough simply not to instill in him counterproductive educational models to see him do good deeds. However, there are always some ways to feed the nobility of mind:
- Eliminating guilt from our education system: Guilt is not only a useless mechanism, but also extremely toxic for a person. When we make someone feel guilty, thinking that we will chastise them and that they will learn not to repeat the mistake, we lead that person to believe that their mistake represents them. We are telling her in some way that he is a bad person, and this certainty will lead her to act accordingly on other occasions.
- Stop judging: we are not anyone's talking cricket. People are free to choose their own path and make the decisions they want, and even children have their own individuality and character. Instead of educating them to obedience, we should unconditionally accept the character of every child around us. They are not beings programmed to fill our shortcomings to be a weapon to use against other adults or to solve our frustrations.
- Establish limits: civic sense and good education are not a mechanism of repression, but of freedom. Respecting others means knowing what our rights and duties are, what I like to do and what others like, and what is the line that separates each of these things.
- Encourage contact with nature and animals: nature offers us calm, and animals unconditional love. These two virtues are the basis of all human development, because it is tranquility that allows us to listen to the points of view of others and develop empathy.
The best thing we can do to find the goodness within us, therefore, is to stop wondering what is wrong with us. Being good people is sometimes as simple as it would be to stop doubting ourselves, to start taking care of ourselves and others. Do not fall into forcing and do not seek a guide who tells you what to do because, as we have indicated, true goodness is always spontaneous and is never an imitation.
