Do you want to believe in the good?

[lovely_darlingprettybaby]

That there is love and support in the world and loving families
And that there are beautiful things, moments and loving experiences and great memories.
That you can do your dreams or have a career you enjoy and a loving family and the things you hope for if that is what you want.
That there still love and people who read their children a picture book every night and tuck them in and great parents, teachers, doctors etc
And there is still a loving God who loves us and wants good for us even when we fail to see it?

 

[Rodafina]

Absolutely, positively, without a doubt. (Although, I don’t have beliefs in any type of god for these things, however.) These wonderful things you mentioned are not the only things that I believe in, because there is too much evidence all around to ignore the bad things. But I try to see the balance in the world. Good and bad together. Hope and despair, sometimes in the very same moment. It’s a complicated world out there. But I will hold fast to my belief that there is good out there, and never give up hope on that.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

That there is love and support in the world and loving families
And that there are beautiful things, moments and loving experiences and great memories.
That you can do your dreams or have a career you enjoy and a loving family and the things you hope for if that is what you want.
That there still love and people who read their children a picture book every night and tuck them in and great parents, teachers, doctors etc
And there is still a loving God who loves us and wants good for us even when we fail to see it?

Yes. Very much so.

If you seek positivity in your life, this means you have to reject negativity, not only in the people around you, but also within yourself. There is a balance of good and evil that needs to be maintained in this world, because without evil, we eventually would not recognize it. If all we saw was good, we might allow our naivety to not recognize evil when it stares us in the face, and this is not a good situation. This is how we become victims. On the other hand, we are often a product of the people around us. The lesson there is to surround yourself with good people, be a good person ourselves, and be quick to recognize and reject the others.

 

[lovely_darlingprettybaby]

Absolutely, positively, without a doubt. (Although, I don’t have beliefs in any type of god for these things, however.) These wonderful things you mentioned are not the only things that I believe in, because there is too much evidence all around to ignore the bad things. But I try to see the balance in the world. Good and bad together. Hope and despair, sometimes in the very same moment. It’s a complicated world out there. But I will hold fast to my belief that there is good out there, and never give up hope on that.

Yes I believe in good and bad. The bad is very clear to me.
But we all have flaws.
I believe in good always but still have a lot of very deep negative moments from my own pain.

 

[lovely_darlingprettybaby]

Yes. Very much so.

If you seek positivity in your life, this means you have to reject negativity, not only in the people around you, but also within yourself. There is a balance of good and evil that needs to be maintained in this world, because without evil, we eventually would not recognize it. If all we saw was good, we might allow our naivety to not recognize evil when it stares us in the face, and this is not a good situation. This is how we become victims. On the other hand, we are often a product of the people around us. The lesson there is to surround yourself with good people, be a good person ourselves, and be quick to recognize and reject the others.

Yes I try to be positive but lately I have been overwhelming negative because of my illness and it is hard to fight it
The positive I see is clinging to the Beautiful and joy giving things I love and trying to only think about uplifting things that promote personal welfare especially with trauma

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

It is sad that your illness is causing you to feel negatively. It wears one down. The past two years have seen me in and out of hospitals: a stroke and subsequent angioplasty, prostate surgery (x3), a serious UTI, a stent in my subclavian, surprise open heart surgery, a carotid to brachial bypass. Yet, now I am feeling very good and have resumed strenuous activities.

I realize that my time is limited and I prefer to spend it with good people, believing in the positive even as I work to eliminate the authoritarian facism creeping over my country. Each night as I ready to sleep, I examine my day, reviewing the positive and negative to have a better day when I wake up.

 

[Luca]

I try to not only see all the good in the world, but also do my best to be a part of it.

 

[Twilight]

I think that, no matter what we've been through, most people have great memories and wonderful moments to reflect on. Sometimes people need to work through the bad stuff to fully appreciate the good, though.

I believe that most people are good because goodness and decency are beneficial from an evolutionary standpoint and are encoded in our genes. Individuals who grow up in nurturing environments are more likely to survive and reproduce.

I'm an atheist.

 

[Ken]

Yes I try to be positive but lately I have been overwhelming negative because of my illness and it is hard to fight it

I do not know you illness, but I am no stranger to illness. As a joke, when people ask about my illnesses, I often tell them, "Please don't spread this around, because I have more diseases than the law allows."

Indeed, my life revolves around my diseases. They are the focal center of my life, involved in everything. However, it does not mean doom and gloom. I still have a good life. I even feel proud of my accomplishments in spite of my diseases. The key: I have taken ownership of my diseases and am even proud of them. (No, I'm not a hypochondriac.)

Life is complex. It is not a simple thing. As per the laws of physics, there must be bad with the good. It is a balance and the wonderful thing is that it is often possible to take something very bad and turn it into something wonderfully good. Achieving that may be complicated, but complicated does not equal Can't. It involves attitude, a lot of "pay attention", and finding the good within the bad and focusing on that, nurture it and harvest it. It's the very fact that life is complicated that make this possible. So, I say, relish the complicated!

No, I am not always so upbeat. I am deeply depressed more than not. It just really helps knowing that life is complicated and that what life is being in the moment or even the last few days or weeks or months or even years is not all that life is or ever will be. The idea, "or will ever be" is important to understand. All of my diseases are permanent. There is no cure, so that will be for ever. But, that doesn't mean that is all I am and that I am doomed. No, as mentioned, I own my diseases. They are a part of me. And as strange as it may seem, I'm proud of it.

 

[Kisa the tea]

I beleive. I know there are good people. It feels like bad people are too prominent though.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

I beleive. I know there are good people. It feels like bad people are too prominent though.

I know it "feels" this way.

The reality is that within the population there are roughly 3% which make up the personality profile of a narcissistic, sociopath or psychopath. Prior to computers and social media, the population was able to keep them in check, for the most part. After computers and social media, they have free reign to raise havoc and can become quite influential. It only takes a very few. For those that are effective, they have a relatively high intelligence, know how to read people, and know how to manipulate the people around them. Actor Heath Ledger played the perfect Joker in the movie, The Dark Knight, and personifies this sort of personality profile in many ways.

"Madness,...like gravity, all it takes is a little push."...Joker. The Dark Knight.

"Some men aren't looking for anything logical like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn."...Alfred. The Dark Knight.

All we can do is recognize evil for what it is. Call it out. Reject it.

Bad people love an audience, they love to have followers, people to positively reinforce their bad behavior, they love the power of influence. However, they lose their power when isolated.

 

[Ken]

I know it "feels" this way.

The reality is that within the population there are roughly 3% which make up the personality profile of a narcissistic, sociopath or psychopath. Prior to computers and social media, the population was able to keep them in check, for the most part. After computers and social media, they have free reign to raise havoc and can become quite influential. It only takes a very few. For those that are effective, they have a relatively high intelligence, know how to read people, and know how to manipulate the people around them. Actor Heath Ledger played the perfect Joker in the movie, The Dark Knight, and personifies this sort of personality profile in many ways.

"Madness,...like gravity, all it takes is a little push."...Joker. The Dark Knight.

"Some men aren't looking for anything logical like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn."...Alfred. The Dark Knight.

All we can do is recognize evil for what it is. Call it out. Reject it.

Bad people love an audience, they love to have followers, people to positively reinforce their bad behavior, they love the power of influence. However, they lose their power when isolated.

Thank you. Extremely well put.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

I think that, no matter what we've been through, most people have great memories and wonderful moments to reflect on. Sometimes people need to work through the bad stuff to fully appreciate the good, though.

I believe that most people are good because goodness and decency are beneficial from an evolutionary standpoint and are encoded in our genes. Individuals who grow up in nurturing environments are more likely to survive and reproduce.

I'm an atheist.

As an atheist myself, I recognize that this is the only life I have that I will experience. In my career I tried to do good as I felt that the people I represented in my work were those patients using the products whose quality I was responsible for. I was internally driven to do my best for them, just as I have been driven to contribute positively to my relationships with friends and my spouse. I may be old but I enjoy showing my spouse how desirable she is. I plan to enjoy the time remaining to me because life is feeling more fragile.

 

[Vindiesel]

Why does one need an external being or deity to be or feel loved or believe in the good?

 

[AquaineBay]

On good/great days I do believe in the good of humanity. On bad days I see the negative. Normal days believe in both. While I do believe in the good of people, I won't just blindly believe in something that I can easily see is "flawed" in some way. I suggest that many believe in the good to a fault. Only you can tell where this "fault" lies for you but, make sure that it isn't unhealthy(e.g. believing people to be good no matter what even if their past actions may lead you to believe otherwise, blind loyalty, Trusting too easily, etc.) Do I want to believe in the good no matter what? Yes! But, real life just doesn't work that way.

 

[VictorR]

Overall, I believe that most people and things are good by nature.

To believe in good and positivity is to have hope, and hope is a very powerful thing.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

I believe in all the good people and things in this world. I believe there is a spark of light in all people.

George Fox had a vision: he saw the world was covered with an ocean of darkness, but he also saw an ocean of light to cover the darkness.

 

[Progster]

Yes, I want to believe in the good. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt.

And there is still a loving God who loves us and wants good for us even when we fail to see it?

I don't believe this.

 

[lovely_darlingprettybaby]

On good/great days I do believe in the good of humanity. On bad days I see the negative. Normal days believe in both. While I do believe in the good of people, I won't just blindly believe in something that I can easily see is "flawed" in some way. I suggest that many believe in the good to a fault. Only you can tell where this "fault" lies for you but, make sure that it isn't unhealthy(e.g. believing people to be good no matter what even if their past actions may lead you to believe otherwise, blind loyalty, Trusting too easily, etc.) Do I want to believe in the good no matter what? Yes! But, real life just doesn't work that way.

I do not like thinking of faults.
I just like,doing my best and being positive and,seeing the best.
I hate thinking of it. In some ways it is true but I do not like obsessing over it.
I think all humans are capable of kindness and love but some,struggle more than others with their personality.

 

[MROSS]

Oh yes! It can be challenging to both believe in good, (despite many negative experiences) as well as putting our thoughts, experiences to words. Glad this thread gained traction.