What makes a person good or bad? This is a question that we do not truly consider during the course of our childhood because we believe that we already know the answer to the question – good people do good things, and bad people do bad things.
As we grow up however, this answer becomes a little more difficult to relate to what we actually see occurring in the world around us. Sometimes, good people can do bad things and bad people can do good things. What then, determines whether an individual is worthy of our trust or our friendship?
The sun and moon come and go from the sky. With their movements, they bring and take the night and day. If the moon and the sun could observe the world as they rest above it, they would see completely different pictures. They would see what seems to be two different worlds. Since night and day cannot ever occur at the same time, the sun and moon would only believe that the world exists in the way that they each see it, and in no other way. The sun will not believe that the world could ever be quiet or dark, and the moon will not believe that the world could be a bright and bustling place. These beliefs will never change as long as the universe exists as it does today.
However, we as human beings have a chance to experience both night and day, and understand that the world can exist in both ways.
Similarly, everything that exists, including human beings themselves, can behave in different ways at different times. This does not take away from the essence of who someone is at their very core.
When we enter into the real world, we will discover that there is no possible way to define the words good or bad. Instead each person can only do what is right or wrong within the situations that they experience and with the choices that they are given. The most crucial fact that accompanies this discovery is that amongst all of these factors that shape and build a person, there is no place for judgement and assumptions.
Being intuitive with the people you choose to surround yourself with is important. However, it is unfair to expect all of the people around you to conform to a set of rules that define your idea of what is good or bad.
If you are like the sun and believe in a bright world, you will encounter someone who is like the moon, and who believes in a dark world. In such a moment, there is no meaning in wondering whose values are good or bad. Instead, we must focus on how to complement each other’s strengths and help lessen each other’s weaknesses. This is because in our beautiful world, there is something far greater than our beliefs of good, bad, right or wrong. The greatest thing is growth.
The achievement of growth extends far beyond tolerance. It is the understanding that we may not always see the world for what it truly is, and the acceptance of the fact that we need other people and their varying perspectives to help us to do so.
