Good is great

We all feel good when we do something unexpected and helpful for someone else. I know that I tend to be a bleeding heart when it comes to pain and suffering – I HATE it. To see another living being suffer just doesn’t sit well with me. I’m not a particularly religious person and yet when I see a dead animal in the road (not trying to be morbid), I immediately say a little prayer because I figure that no one else will. I’m not talking about someone’s pet, but a squirrel or other wild creatures. It probably seems nonsensical to others, but it just feels right to give a little love unexpectedly to another living creature who might not get this from elsewhere.

I was at my folks house watching a wonderful movie called Longitude (should have known, it was done for Channel 4). It was about the first inventors of time pieces that would help the ships locate themselves in the wide open span of water. I only had the chance to watch the first part of this movie (can’t wait to see the rest), but it was fascinating to watch the two main characters of the story who were simply moved to act on something deep within them. One man created the initial time piece back in the time when the Royal Navy ruled the seas, and the other man helped rebuild this clock centuries later at the height of the world wars. Both men put themselves into the most uncomfortable of situations for different reasons and with different levels of support from their families.

The man (played by Jeremy Irons) in the later period was a very quiet, thoughtful and inquisitive man who was driven by the need to fix the old, rusting time pieces that lay neglected in a storeroom. It’s strange when you see a character that you just totally identify with. I got why he was driven, and also that there were others around him who barely understood why he was the way he was. It hurt to watch what he went through, because it felt personal. His character is reflected in a lot of us out there, who are motivated by doing good for a variety of reasons. Without these people who do these actions with little thought of reward, our world would definitely be a darker place. Everyday, there are examples of people stopping fights and even helping people in need just because it’s the right thing to do.

One of my favorite sites, Reddit, is pretty well known for it various actions of selfless kindness towards strangers (though there is another baser side as well). If you need a pick-me-up for your attitude towards humanity, definitely read this AskReddit session: Alright, positive time. What’s the coolest thing you’ve done for a stranger? I barely got a quarter of the way through and am balling my eyes out from all of the heart warming stories by Redditers. People can be so incredibly awesome.

When you spend your life wondering why you’re so different from others, any recognition that there are indeed a lot of people out there who are just like you makes you feel good. And it gives you hope that we don’t live in a world that is only about money and power. There is a lot of good that needs to be celebrated more, so that those people and organizations who do this work everyday know that they’re not out there all alone. One good deed linking to other good deeds eventually lifts the expectations that we all are capable of doing good. And that just might be a starting point to use against those who just keep plodding along, making do with what’s given to them.

Our future is bright because doing good is no longer being looked at like a side show act. It’s now being held up as a re-new way (because it’s actually really old) that is an incredible example to follow. Suddenly, good is great again, and that is just amazing!