Each day, do you contribute to the greater good or do you support actions and efforts that lead to greater suffering and pain? It's important to evaluate your actions great and small with this in mind. What can we do to contribute to the greater good?
Watch your words
The older I get, the more I recognize the power of words. Words can truly hurt and harm people and words can also uplift and enrich lives. When President Trump decried poor refugees at the border, a young man took his words to heart, armed himself and massacred a large number of people in El Paso. Trump's words ignited a deadly massacre. Time and again, Donald Trump used words that resulted in death, harm, vandalism, the spread of a deadly pandemic and hate. He is one of the best examples of the ways that words can be deadly. Words used callously, insensitively, dishonestly and in ways mean to harm and hurt others contribute to pain and suffering, so watch your words.
Optimize good energy
This goes back to Ben Franklin's terrific saying, "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." Essentially Franklin's adage was about optimizing good energy so that you can make wise choices and do good work. Good, healthy habits and choices will lead you to best possible energy, and that will help you contribute to the greater good.
Speak up and act in the face of injustice, hate and prejudice
Never be complicit when injustice, hate or prejudice occur. Speak up and act to stop such words and actions.
Create warm, welcoming positive spaces
Make sure that spaces you belong to and create are warm and welcoming to all.
Collaborate
Even when we are well meaning, we can sometimes err by not working with others to make decisions and do good work. Often our best work is work that we do with others.
Do the good work
Often the good work of life is laborious, menial and tiresome, but in order to make better we often have to do those tasks.
As we assess our lives, we will find that there are always ways to make better, and these are a few considerations that will lead you in that direction. Onward.