Saturday, June 1, 2019

Voltaire – to be or not to be, good


What is “good”; what represents "a good thing”?  

  • When we share with others (something of value), is this a good thing?
  • When we consider and act-on someone’s needs above our own, is this a good thing? 

Voltaire said,
Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.
It is when we know what is good (think about it) but fail to act on it given the opportunity; this is perhaps the guilt that Voltaire describes in and among all mankind—whether we actually have guilt or not. 

Sometimes it is the small things that count, if not one than perhaps a series.   

  • For a child or someone with a strong sense of gratitude, small things matter.  
  • For those however who lack gratitude or who are otherwise indulged, such small things go unnoticed if they matter at all.  

A man gives a woman a bouquet of roses and she, for whatever reason, does not in the least appreciate or admire them.  

Another man offers another woman a single flower that he picked amid a field of wildflowers and she is taken, momentarily consumed in this kind, considerate action with all its meaning. 

Why does one appreciate one and the other, not?  

A good thing is not always for good, great, but is finally measured in how well it is received, registered. 

Better to try “good” and be good than to not, presuming rejection and even ridicule.  

Do this good for you—because your heart is good—and not for them alone. 


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