Is
It Good or Bad?
by Marie T. Russell
 Good and bad are two concepts that are
ingrained in our beliefs, values, and perspectives on life. Since time immemorial, humans
have categorized things as good or bad. According to our mythology, the biggest mistake
Eve made was to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Then we have Abraham who
had to choose between his love for the Lord and his son... He made the choice (good or
bad?) to sacrifice his son.
The knowledge of good and evil is the
biggest confusion and source of resentment and anger that exists. We have created wars
(either between nations, or between family members or neighbors) over a belief that we
were right and the other wrong. Whole cultures have been annihilated because their way of
life or their beliefs were not deemed 'good' or 'right' by those who wielded more power.
Just think of it. The belief that something is good or bad has created more misery on this
planet than anything else.
If you didn't think that something was
bad, it wouldn't upset you. If you didn't think that something was good, you wouldn't feel
any loss when it was absent. Example: You think it's good in a relationship when the man
brings flowers or gifts. Consequence: If your mate does not do these things, you think
that's bad. More examples: 1) You're sick in bed... oh, that's bad! Well, maybe not! It
may be the best thing that's happened to you in a long time because you're finally getting
a complete rest, or maybe there will be a fire at the office that day, and because you are
sick in bed, you are protected. 2) You just got promoted! Oh! that's good! Wait, maybe
not. Your promotion might mean more stress, less time with your kids, more
responsibilities that may make your work life less enjoyable, etc.. 3) You've been fired.
How terrible! Again, maybe not. It may be time for you to move on to something else, to
start fresh, and this is the way the Universe is dealing you the cards and `forcing' you
to make a change.
We have even created misery for ourselves
by judging whether we have behaved 'good' or 'bad'. We manufacture an inner judge and jury
and convict ourselves to a life of martyrdom, anger, sadness, or guilt, because we feel we
have been bad, made mistakes, and consequently don't deserve to be happy. We were taught from an early age that we were sinners -- that we were born with a
black mark on our soul! (Translated: We were told we were inherently bad.)
Who decides what's good and what's bad?
In a book by Daniel Quinn, titled Ishmael (which I recommend reading), he speaks of 'Adam'
deceiving himself by saying "Whatever I can justify doing is good and whatever I
cannot justify doing is evil". Definitely food for thought...
Let's reflect on that statement -- think
of the things you qualify as good and those you qualify as bad. Aren't those decisions
based on your opinion of them or how those things affect you? Some of us who are
vegetarians have decided that killing animals for food is bad... whereas the native
Americans honored the Spirit in the animals they killed for food and saw it as good. Some
people think vaccines are preventative medicine, whereas others see them as `bad'. We see
war as evil, yet who knows, that may be how the planet is thinning out the ranks and
lowering the world population. All of those values and judgments come simply from our
perspective and what side of the scale we sit on.
If my favorite color is blue and
yours is red, does that make one of us right
and the other wrong?
Who are we to decide what is good and
bad? Can we rise above our own perceptions and desires to have a world overview of what is 'good'? Or even to decide for our friends, family, neighbors, what is good for them? If we
choose to impose that yardstick on our own life, we have no right to use it tp evaluate
the performance and actions of others, even if we are affected by their actions.
Any time we use the words good or bad we
are simply stating a preference and opinion. That color looks good/bad on you. That soup
tastes good/bad. You did a good/not good job. He's a good/bad boy. We had bad/beautiful
weather this weekend. That's a funny/lousy joke. That's bad/wonderful news. I hope it will
turn out good/bad. What's the common trait in all those comments? All preferences, all
judgments, all personal evaluations.
If the concepts good/bad didn't exist,
people's self-esteem would not be so dependent on someone else's opinion of them. We would
not feel the need to people please or fish for compliments or do something `right' to
receive approval. We would not do things that go against the grain in order to fit in, be
accepted and be loved. Maybe less crime would be committed when teenagers (and adult
teenagers) did not feel they needed to show off and prove that they're somebody,. There
would be less lies as people would not need to pretend to be other than they are.
When we accept things the way they are
(accept what is), we feel more at peace with the world around us. The weather is neither
good nor bad -- it simply is what it is. The news is not good or bad -- it is information,
a recap of events that took place as seen and evaluated by someone else. Your opinion or
beliefs are not good or bad, they simply are what they are -- possibly even the opposite
of mine. And that does not mean that one of us is right and the other wrong. It simply
means we see things from two different perspectives. If my favorite color is blue and
yours is red, does that make one of us right and the other wrong?
Let's play at eliminating some words from
our vocabulary (or at least from our concepts.) Ask your mind to alert you each time you
catalog something as good or bad, happy or sad, etc. You'll be surprised at how often you
evaluate and judge things as acceptable or not, right or wrong, etc.
It's a mind opening experience in itself
to simply be aware of the value judgments we have been making. And that's not good or bad
-- it simply is!
 About The Author
Marie
T. Russell is the founder of InnerSelf Magazine (founded 1985). She also
produced and hosted a weekly South Florida radio broadcast, Inner Power, from
1992-1995 which focused on themes such as self-esteem, personal growth, and
well-being. Her articles focus on transformation and reconnecting with our own
inner source of joy and creativity.
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