To be a good person is not an easy thing to do. In fact it is an everyday struggle for every human being. In our quest to be good, we try to find ways that will lead us to such state of mind and being.
An often-repeated story about the struggle of man between good and bad goes something like this:
A child asked his grandfather if man is naturally good or bad. The grandfather answered that every man has a good wolf and a bad wolf inside of him. And so the child asked, "Who will win then grandfather?" The grandfather answered, "The wolf you feed is the one who will win."
This story is trying to make us understand that there is inherent goodness and badness in every human. What will determine who we will be are the choices we make that feed the corresponding "wolf". We feed the good wolf through joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, compassion, and faith. The bad wolf is fed by anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
One way that can lead us towards the good is to find good company. This means people who will support us in your efforts to make ourselves better. These people will not judge us in our failures but prefer to encourage us to rise up and try again.
I recently had the good fortune of being invited to be part of a group in our place called the BEC. The BEC or Basic Ecclesial Community is actually made up of several smaller communities like the one I joined which basically encourages ordinary lay people to actively participate in the life and mission of the Church. One of the things that encouraged me to join was the active participation of the parish priest through his constant presence in our weekly meetings and the genuine enthusiasm of group members.
My Say
I would probably be exaggerating if I say that the people in our group are "saintly" good. Like me, they are not. However, I can safely say that these are people who are definitely trying to be good and that is actually what matters most. Given our situation here on earth, it would be impossible to achieve perfection.
That said, as we continue our way towards the perfection of real goodness, we will succeed a little,we will fail a little, but this should never stop us from trying to be good person.
