I Believe in the Basic Goodness of Man

I inadvertently posted on my blog an article written for a literary magazine. Thanks to all who brought it to my attention. Here is the actual article written for the blog.

I have faith in the basic goodness of man. I am well aware that the conflict of good and bad merge, and it is often hard to distinguish beauty and virtue and kindness and laughter from all ugliness and wickedness and hurtfulness and sadness. But I accept the imperfections of the world (not because it was created imperfect, but was made imperfect by man's complexity of behaviour) and despite man's faults, I have faith that his virtues outweigh his failings. Kindness is at the heart of my belief that people are basically good. It is the vehicle through which, in the larger struggle of good and bad, we rely on to sustain hope. Time after time, it is through kindness that we rise above trying circumstances, putting others before ourselves. Earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes and hurricanes, mudslides, rock slides, fires and floods, famine, medical aid, vaccines, shelter, illness and death...our spontaneous impulse is to lend a hand sending ripples that bring us back to that place of instinctive goodness which is deeply rooted in us from birth...a place from where we sometimes drift away until we are reminded by some misfortune or crisis to return to.
I believe that there is more good than bad in this world, despite the negative outlook of radio talk show hosts and reports in the news of wrong doings and crime. For every report of a crime, there are thousands of decent, kind and honest individuals whose good deeds do not make the news but whose goodness softens hearts. I believe there are more people in this world who wish to create than there are those who wish to destroy. Take a look around. There are tens of thousands of volunteers in every fork and bend of our lives who spend countless hours doing their level best without thanks or glory to create, to shelter, to aid, to build, to strengthen a system in a world they believe in. For each single person who refuses to feed a hungry, there are hundreds who open their doors and invite the needy to a meal. There is ready charity all around. I believe that humanity has more people who are willing to work to find solutions with the promise of hope than those who sit back and shrug their shoulders in careless negligence often giving rise to fear. Doing good becomes a struggle we all face as we acknowledge that life is painful and difficult at times. I also know that the ability to take in the beauty and goodness that surrounds me is a grace to be recognized as fortunate as the goodness itself. Goodness is soft and subtle. It can sometimes go unnoticed because it is often hidden in the beauty we take for granted. When recognized and acknowledged, it permeates whatever it comes in contact with and reminds us of our basic impulse, our natural beginnings, and of what goodness could be and should be. After all, what is the measure of a society if not how well it treats the less fortunate among its members? We become the person who behaves spontaneously with grateful goodness, thus transforming a sometimes confused and discouraged world into one strung together with obvious goodness, the mirror of compassion.

This I humbly speak...

Surviving Gains and Losses

These past three years have hit hard the average citizen who's spending money has diminished while unemployment numbers have risen along with the cost of living. The consumer market is down as is consumer spirit. Residents of nearly every city have seen stores close, and in every corner, "For Lease" or "For Sale" signs are posted in windows of vacant buildings. Store owners and managers wait anxiously for that one customer or two or few to come through their doors with the slim chance that they will make a purchase, and if they are to buy, they 'shop 'til they drop' for that bargain piece or advertised special. Many retailers have not survived; some are on their last leg, while others will survive, getting through the current hard times by identifying with the customer base they serve.
One such company is Stater Bros., the largest privately owned supermarket chain in Southern California and, according to the Daily Bulletin, the largest private employer in San Bernardino County with 19,000 employees. Last week, the chain reported a third-quarter decline of 60 percent in profits yet sales were down only 0.6 percent for the third quarter. Because their customers did not have the spending power, Stater Bros. cut prices on 10,000 items last year and absorbed a 66 percent reduction in profits to accommodate their customers. Costs rose but prices did not.
For the past 30 some years, I have shopped Stater Bros. because they have shown to be a community minded company with one set of prices (regular or sale) available to all their customers without club, saving or membership cards. Despite losses, the chain continues to support area charities, food banks and children's hospitals among other benevolent acts of giving. I encourage everyone to find and support a Stater Bros. within his/her community. There are 52 markets in San Bernardino County, 47 in Riverside County, 30 in Orange County, 25 in Los Angeles County, and 11 in San Diego County. I encourage you to find and sponsor companies, retailers, businesses and organizations that know the essential right actions, that once taken, will put their customers, the average citizen in step with the natural order of things and on course with what comes next. Gains and losses are built in to our lives, like windows and doors in a car. Companies like Stater Bros. understand this. We experience prosperity when our actions with respect to money are righteous actions--that is, actions of generosity, actions of offering. Companies that seek merely their personal gain do not have an understanding of what money will do for them and others to sustain us through the windows and doors of life. In the long run, businesses such as Stater Bros. will be the survivors hand in hand with their customer base.

This I humbly speak...
(No, I am neither the spokeswoman for Stater Bros. nor do I have a vested interest in the company.I do, however, support many of their charities and charity events.)

I Climb a Mountain

I stepped on the treadmill. Reluctantly, I pressed the speed to a crawl pace just to go through the motion of doing something after having pulled myself out of bed.
"Come on," urged Id. "Put more energy into it. You're not going to get away with that, not after all the nagging you've done in the past about 'discipline and good habits that become character'," he said, imitating my tone of voice.
"Well that was then," I said. "I now don't see the need to develop any one's character. I'm comfortable without the challenge."
"What happened to all those years of telling us to get out of our comfort zone?" chimed Soul.
"Yeah," said Id. "you were the one who always pushed and said that challenging yourself physically and mentally and getting out of your comfort zone by doing things you usually spend time and energy trying to avoid were the things that kept you going in life."
"Yes, but..."
"No buts." I was interrupted by Soul again. "You seem to have forgotten how you dragged me into a hike up Mt. Baldy on a Sunday morning when I certainly wasn't wanting to go and Id was doing all he could to also avoid the activity, and remember what you said?" she asked, questioning my ideology.
I smiled at the recollection. In those days, I literally thought that spending a morning on a weekend lounging around the house in front of a TV was not the best example of disciplined behaviour especially since I held on to the thought that actions become habits and habits become character. Of course I remembered! I had dragged Soul and Id with the promise of feeling ultimate delight when reaching the top of the mountain telling them "to concentrate on the end result and know that the way down is always easier than the way up, no matter where or in what situation you are in life. Besides," I had said, "when you reach the top, you'll see the valley meeting the ocean below, a view crafted by the hand of God." And with that, Soul and Id had reluctantly accompanied me to absorb whatever I fed them of life.
"Practice what you preach," chuckled Id and brought me back to the dreaded treadmill. "Concentrate on the end result."
"Okay! Enough already!" I brushed him off with annoyance.
Yet, the recollection of my past perseverance ignited a spark that fueled the drive to motivate the challenge within. I increased my speed to a fast walk as I felt the soft rolling floor of the treadmill beneath the soles of my feet. It did not compare to the rugged terrain of the mountain, yet the instrument through which life is lived is the human body. All our experiences are made manifest through the body dictated by the mind. The fatigue, the pounding heart, the surge of adrenalin and the ultimate delight in reaching the top are all part of the mind--body experience.
I increased the speed once more. I started running. I made my heart pound with a boom... boom. My sides pained sharply. There was no one ahead of me and no one behind me. Just the sound of my shoes slapping the rolling stretch of treadmill. Slap, slap, boom, slap, boom, slap, slap, boom. The rhythm was intoxicating like an incantation. I raised the incline to resemble the last stretch of mountain elevation, as I pictured myself on the slopes of Mt. Baldy or Faraya, Mt. Whitsett, Sannin, or the Cedars and all the peaks I'd climbed to watch the views "crafted by the hand of God." I was like a bird stretching her wings to fly over the hills; it felt like a song, a gush of wind, a breathtaking gulp of air, an exhilarating shout.
I slowed down at last, breathing heavily, almost crying, having used both body and mind to relive the ecstasy of having reached the finish line, as it were, and proving once more that the climb was always worth the effort.
"Well done," said Soul softly.
"Thanks," I panted.
"Not too bad," said Id, always leaving room for more.
"Thanks," I repeated.
Tomorrow, I'll climb another mountain.

This I humbly speak...