The right people weren’t always happy. In his heart there are several worries and disappointments that often hide with smiles full of closeness, for goodness is a virtue that characterizes all those who are able to understand that sadness also has a restorative meaning, and that also serves to make us more sensitive to the pain of others.
In goodness, whether you like it or not, there are always a few drops of lukewarm sadness, the ones necessary to focus on the important, to purge illusions and to know, now, whether there is something that characterizes good or noble people, is that in their sadness there is no place for resentment or bitterness. They never use a grudge to hurt others.
- If we only expect a great act of kindness to believe in the nobility of people.
- We will get nothing.
- Goodness must come from ourselves.
- Be great in the small details of daily life.
Something curious about this topic suggested by psychologist Antoni Bolinches in his book: The Secret of Self-Esteem?Is goodness, while an essential source of satisfaction and self-affirmation, also a disadvantage to social success. Who does ethical coherence work for? It’s not always good to compete with others.
We will not enter here in the traditional debate of whether man is good by nature or becomes good over time, what is clear is that good people fight every day to maintain their essence, we are in a world where success is linked to competition. , and where nobility is linked to “fragility”. All this often causes us to fall into a very complex type of social neurosis.
People with noble ideals, who care about others and themselves, are not very common. Now, that doesn’t mean the rest of the people are “bad. “We should not see our reality in absolute terms of black or white, or good. or evil; Human psychology doesn’t work that way, there are different tones and personal paths that allow us to see the world one way or another.
Goodness is not only part of an inner trajectory, as its reflection can also be seen from the outside:
However, shortly after the encounter, healing, they also look outward to dedicate themselves as they did to themselves, their sensitivity brings them closer to their environment to help, to bring happiness, because these are your roots, is that your essence?
Nobility, kindness, respect and gratitude, in addition to being virtues, are active. While these are traits that everyone has to a greater or lesser extent, it is interesting to consider that the person who assumes them and practices them often enjoys good physical and mental health.
Good people enjoy a sense of well-being every time they help or invest their efforts in others, because in their brain a neural circuit associated with pleasure and reward is activated, as well as different chemicals associated with happiness, such as dopamine and oxytocin.
Something as simple as maximizing our solidarity potential leads us to a virtuous circle where we contribute so that others feel the same well-being. However, one fundamental thing we must not forget is that goodness also needs its own spaces and boundaries through which to ‘preserve its integrity’.
Being good is not synonymous with naivety. To be good is that virtue that the naive and those who say the wise will never understand.
Cognitive psychologist Paul Bloom, a professor at Yale University and a contributor to the journal Nature and Science, explains that sometimes the relationship between empathy, kindness and compassion leads to high doses of suffering.
Images courtesy of Mi-Kyung Choi.