Choose to See Goodness Around You

Posted on November 03, 2012 by Lynn Crocker, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

I needed a lift this week, so I decided a couple of days ago to write down all of the goodness (or Godness) that I saw around me. At first, all I saw was one person’s indifference towards another sprinkled with bits of annoyance and animosity. But then I opened my heart, which opened my mind, which opened my eyes, and I saw an overwhelming amount of positive, loving interactions.

For example, an elderly couple approaches the door of a local sandwich shop. As they slowly shuffle along the walkway, a teenaged boy comes up quickly from behind. The old man grabs a hold of the handle of the heavy glass door and struggles to pull it open for his wife. The boy, who is now immediately behind the man, reaches out, takes hold of the door and patiently props it open while the couple walks into the restaurant. The look of appreciation on the man’s face and the vibration of caring respect coming off the boy are unmistakable.

And, while sitting at a traffic light, I look into the window of the car in front of me. Seated in the backseat are a woman in her mid 40’s and a boy of 10 or 11 years of age. They are turned at the waist, facing each other. The boy is talking, his face is serious and he is clearly communicating something of great importance. The woman is sitting very still, looking at they boy’s face and nodding occasionally. She is not interjecting her opinions or giving “adult” advice, instead she is obviously listening and attempting to understand what the boy is saying. I feel happy for the boy, being heard is one of the greatest feelings a human can experience and grateful to the woman for giving this gift to the boy.

At the park I see someone picking up trash as they walk along. On the freeway I see drivers letting other drivers “cut” in front of them in traffic. I see shoppers interacting positively with each other and the cashiers…
I could go on, but the bottom line is, when I choose to look for it, I see goodness everywhere.

I am aware that simultaneous to all of these wonderful connecting, healing acts of kindness, generosity and compassion are acts that are not so altruistic, but in taking responsibility for what I choose to “see” I am able to lift myself out of the doldrums and cultivate a strong desire to act in a way that mirrors all the Godness I see around me.