The Worth of Being Good

Few years back, my sister once said “Didi it’s very expensive to be good in this world” and looking straight into my eyes, she further added “One of my boss, a very intelligent person, told me this truth…the act of being good to everybody is affordable only if you have money and a comfortable life.” My sister, a girl too matured for her age, believed those words but I couldn’t believe it completely. I pondered over that statement and tried to evaluate it with my logical thinking but remained unsure about its validity. At that time, the simple person in me believed in the kind act of goodness and couldn’t accept the practicality involved in the practice. I was a simple lecturer in a college majorly dominated by middle class students and teachers who believed in leading a simple life on a straight road. Their life moved in a circle with only few identified points: education, job, marriage, family and finally death. Many of them took pride in being a part of the repetitive cycle. I could never identify myself with that crowd but I managed to be good to them. The reason could be, I was happy, enthusiastic and had fairly comfortable life. It was easy for me to be good since I hardly faced any professional as well as personal challenge. My sister worked in a leading BPO and she faced the challenge of the corporate world. So for me it was slight difficult to agree with her.

There are many reasons why today I remember the conversation with my sister. But I would conclude by accepting, that as I face the challenges in the professional and personal life, I completely agree with my sister and her unknown boss. I have money but not adequate to buy a comfortable life; so the act of being good to everybody is on hold for now. As I ramble, few people are bound to get hurt and I can't console them because my own mind is craving for simplicity and comfort. For the time being, goodness is an unaffordable commodity for me.

(Dated: 7/10/2006)