"Immortality is to live your life doing good things, and leaving your mark behind."— Brandon
Being good has several advantages, a lot of people know this and they say it all the time, but being good goes beyond mere words, it has to be backed by actions. I am sure we
have heard the popular saying "do good and it will be returned unto you." So I ask, if this is true why is it that people don"t make concerted efforts to be good all the time? This is one question I ask all the time, and every time I ask, it appears there are no answers.
Interestingly I have noticed something in the lives of people who bend backwards to touch lives and make others happy—they are very happy people as well, full of life, they display so much enthusiasm, in fact, their happiness is infectious. We don"t need a star gazer to tell us why happy people seem to be happy all the time, it is a law of nature that what you sow is what you reap,
either in deed or thoughts. People who go around investing their time and money in making others happy will certainly draw good, even greater good unto themselves.
Not with standing the sermon you have heard on "being good," it can never be enough because it is a vast topic and it is also something that must become a habit instead of something you do when it is convenient. Imagine if you decide to give money to the poor and needy everyday of your life, no matter how small or you decide to put a smile on someone"s face on a daily basis through an initiative that caters for the orphans or widows, imagine the good you would have done in 20 years.
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The reason our world as imperfect as it is, is still habitable is because of the millions of people who through sweat and sacrifice, daily contribute to the basket of good and fairness. There are countless examples of great people who have dedicated their lives to doing good and I believe we can all emulate them. It is simply a thing of desire and sacrifice.
Like I suggested earlier, doing good should be a thing one constantly and deliberately work at till it becomes a habit, an example of a man who made it a habit to touch lives in his lifetime was Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola also known as
M.K.O Abiola, he was a father to many people, he made it a duty to do good while he was on earth, I never had the opportunity to meet him or benefit from his acts of goodness, but I have heard several stories from direct and indirect beneficiaries. I have also read stories about his community development efforts across the country, he was called the helper of the ma.s.ses. He has since become the standard of measuring philanthropy in Nigeria. Apart from the great things he did to bring smiles upon the faces of people, he also funded great initiatives. He was called the pillar of sports in Africa for his contribution to development of sports in his home country Nigeria and the African continent. He also contributed in no small measure to education in Nigeria, in short no one can deny the fact that Chief M.K.O Abiola had a good heart and that he was a friend of the ma.s.ses.
Another name that comes readily to mind now is mother Teresa, born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu on August 26th 1910. She lived for 87 years, she was a Roman Catholic nun and missionary. She was a helper of the poor. She brought hope to the hopeless and sick in the society. She contributed so much to this world that she won a n.o.bel Prize for Peace and Ramon Magsaysay Peace Prize for all her efforts. She sacrificed her personal comfort and peace to see others happy. What a role model she was to everyone who desired in anyway or form to see others live a better life.
I can go on and on about several other examples of people who came up with several ideas and initiatives to make life better for millions of people. Nelson Mandela sacrificed his freedom to see his people free from the shackles of apartheid and secondary slavery, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. fought racial discrimination to the point of death, Mary Slessor fought with every things he had to see to the end of killing of twins in Nigeria.
Then, there"s another thing I have noticed about good people, it is difficult to copy them, it is as if they have mastered the act of being good so much that it becomes a part of them, they do it effortlessly, while others struggle to catch up, there is a deliberateness about their intentions that goes beyond an investment (since many believe that once you do good, you attract favour unto yourself) it is as if the act is only unique to them. Now, if truly every act of goodness has rewards, how come everybody doesn"t invest in being good?
I have since realised that it doesn"t work like that, it"s not that simple, being good comes from a conviction, for some it is a response to an experience, for others it is an act of faith. For example, several people tend to be good, if they have been deprived of the good things of life as kids, if for whatever reason they excel later in life, they try to touch lives since they know what it means
to suffer. Others are good because of religious doctrines, which they carry out with deep conviction.
The Real Mystery of Kindness
Doing good can be likened to putting funds into a savings account, you can draw on it at the appropriate time, it also comes with interest. How is this so? The answer is who rewards acts of kindness? It is G.o.d Almighty, and you can"t be smart with G.o.d, that is why I insist that being good is an act of kindness but you can"t be cunningly deliberate about it, rather you have to be graciously deliberate about it. Being good is like working for the "Red Cross" or "Doctors without Borders," you get paid for your efforts but most workers of these two organisations aren"t doing their jobs just for the sake of money, they are doing them for the sake of humanity.
What is actually very mysterious about being good if it has become a part of you is when you help someone who at the time never looked like someone who could repay your act of kindness in anyway, only for the same person to later be a major source of help for you a few years later. I have experienced it a couple of times in ways unimaginable.
Another mystery is when you forgive someone you ordinarily should send to the darkest dungeons if you had the means because of what he or she did to you, especially if you had the resources at the time to make the person suffer the same pain you felt as a consequence of his or her action, but you rather chose to be magnanimous and you forgave without looking back, you will be surprised how the people you offend too will overlook your actions, I have also experienced same too many times. It"s a great mystery.
The last in the series of mysteries attached to doing good to others is when your child or children experience goodness everywhere they go, when strangers just pick on them to bless them immensely, it"s the highest form of repayment for acts of kindness that anyone can wish for. It is never too late to imbibe this wonderful and rewarding habit if you are yetto.