In Goodness We Trust

“The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all directions.”

                                                        -Chanakya

          Goodness is not just a simple word for the general quality of being recognized in character or conduct but is also the most valuable gift one can impart.

         Below is a story which gives us an insight to the eminence of goodness:

          There was once a member of a school board who delivered a speech. He turned his back to the seniors on stage and faced the student’s parents in the audience. “If you had to send your kids off to college with only one of the following nuggets of wisdom,” he asked them, “which would you choose: Be successful? Be happy? Or be good?

          One of the students couldn’t recall his purpose for raising the question, but he vividly remembered his mother’s response. On the car ride home from the ceremony, He asked her which tidbit she would impart to him as he left for college. She paused for a moment and then said confidently, “I’d tell you to be good.”

The mothers’ choice was curious to the student at that time. Happiness and success are the stuff of life, He thought – the things that every parent wants for his or her child. He didn’t understand how she could so easily subordinate those two to being “good.”

Then the mother explained her reasoning. Happiness and success are important, she said, but she knew that her son would strive for those things without being reminded to. Being good, on the other hand, wouldn’t always come as naturally.

She was right. In college, he pursued success and happiness of his own accord. He pushed for competitive internships and worked hard in his classes to succeed. He sought satisfying friendships and hit up the best parties to ensure he’d have the happiest college experience possible. Being good, however, was not always as instinctive and rarely proved to be the easiest thing to pursue. Making time to give back to the community was difficult. Searching for recycling bins was infinitely more annoying than throwing away the bottles. Telling his professor the truth about his tardy paper was much scarier than claiming to be sick.

          As his mother predicted, morality had been the only one of those nuggets of wisdom that required a constant reminder.

          It’s clear that today’s graduates are fixated on achieving their own definitions of happiness and success. We want to thrive in the areas that we love. And why shouldn’t we? But being good while we pursue those endeavors deserves – perhaps requires – a special reminder.

        Even if the nature of our career isn’t selfless – if we’re teachers, bankers, lawyers, writers or advertisers – we all will face opportunities to be good, or to create good, at some point. We just need to embrace those moments.

       Our methods of charity may come in the form of being a good student, friend, or co-worker. Being honest or selfless in these roles won’t always come easily or intuitively. It is said that – The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do well anyway.

         So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you. History is a perfect example as it stands as a witness for all the good done by various people in the past. One of them is Mother Teresa - Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.

– Ms.Gabriella and Ms. Jeedith