What is Good? What is Bad?

What is it that we categorize as Good or as Bad? What is it that helps decide?

Truth is undoubtedly multi-dimensional. What is right for one can possibly be wrong for another?

Last week, when I taught a program, I was assisted by 23 teachers & volunteers. Under exactly the same situation, in the same program, after receiving the same set of instructions: Each individuals' response was different. Each person's participation & level of acceptance for a given challenge varied.

Is it possible to have a permanent theorem that can declare a universal law about objects eg: whether chocolates are good or bad? or about Who is a Good or Bad person? Or What is a right or wrong situation?

Past one week’s events led me to think on these above mentioned questions & and my probable conclusion comes in the form of few thumb rules:

Thumb Rule #1: ‘Everything is good or bad depending on the refinement of my own mind’

Here are few examples about this first point mentioned above:

What is a Good or Bad object:

• If I am a child, my love for chocolates leads me to believe that sweets are good for me.
• If I am diabetic, I tell myself chocolates and sweets are bad for me. 
• If I am a normal healthy human being, the choice for chocolates depends on my taste buds. I can also probably be indifferent towards sweets.

Let us take a look at Good and Bad situations:

Is this a good situation or a bad one? 

• If my mind is weak, a challenging situation will make me cry & make me want to run away.
• If I have a strong mind, I will see a challenging situation as an opportunity to upgrade my skills.
• If I am an indifferent person, a challenging situation is not my business till the fire actually reaches my own doorstep and then thanks to my non-action, the fire might actually burn down my house.

Good and Bad people:

Is he an Angel or a Devil?

• If I am suffering from a inferiority complex, the presence of a confident person would make me feel uncomfortable, insulted about my incapabilities & pulled down.
• If I am a good learner, presence of a confident person is a good opportunity to gain knowledge.
• If I am proud of my capabilities, the confident person might appear to be rude & disrespectful.

This Week:

Identify one object or situation or person that we have categorized as either good or bad! Know that it is our own state of mind that created this category. 

Every situation we see as bad today, would change depending on second Thumb Rule.

Watch out this space for Thumb Rule #2 next Thursday…