In the Peace Column of the Catholic Peace Weekly, the writer gives the readers some thoughts on achieving a feeling of goodness by doing good.
A volunteer who was working together with the writer at a soup kitchen where he was the director, posted a photo on Instagram and captioned it: "I become a good human being by doing volunteer work." He told the young man he saw it differently: "It’s not that, but rather this is what brought out the goodness you originally had." It was true. Without his goodness of heart, he would not have set foot in the soup kitchen in the first place." There is no reason for a young man who lacks time to work and play to come to the kitchen, where he does only dirty work.
There are moments in life that make one feel good. You are in the elevator and see someone hurriedly approaching, you feel good when you see the person's grateful eyes when he enters the elevator while you keep on holding the elevator door. It is a very easy and simple way for anyone to feel good.
Maybe it is because the goodness that people have from the beginning appears at this time? That goodness brings happiness to those who just make the elevator and to those who wait holding the door. Some people press the close button quickly pretending not to notice the situation. But after doing that, most people will wonder, 'Why did I do it?' or 'Has anyone seen it?' make some feel uncomfortable. He believes there was something there from the beginning but believes this initial goodness is buried in the harsh world in which we live.
He closes his eyes and thinks about it in the evening when irritable and dizzy. He thinks about what happened during the day, such as holding on to the elevator or holding the door open at the supermarket. And when he reflects on those things, he can't help but smile. Doing these little acts of kindness brings happiness not only to the recipient but also to himself. Some say that the selfish mind is human nature. He doesn't know which is the correct answer, but what he does know for sure is that trying to live as well as possible makes him happy.
Living selfishly may be comfortable today, but it makes you constantly look back and regret it. In his heart, the voice that encourages him to live selfishly according to his greed and the voice that encourages him to live with a good and caring heart, fight with each other. So which side should he take? It is always said that the answer is to be on the good side, but in reality, the side of selfish temptation is also quite strong. So, in this fight, He thinks that trying to choose the good side and winning the fight against selfishness is fighting according to God's will. And when he looks back later, he feels comfortable living on that side.
After finishing the day of serving he sits in front of the lunch table and there is warm soup and the meal that awaits. When he thinks of the kind hearts of the volunteers who have come to help even in a difficult situation due to the Coronavirus, all the people working there are energized. When he sees them working with a bright smile, he wonders if there is another better image of an angel.
On days when there are too few volunteers, he worries about what to do and his shoulders are heavy from the start. When it comes time to start work, and when he sees the volunteers with bright smiles on their faces, he is energized. So after work, he thanks them all: "You are angels. I sincerely bow my head and thank you."
