Good > Evil

     Good vs. evil is a common story plot, and a common fight in everyday life. This week, I personally took the challenge to look for those precious moments where the good overcomes the evil. Rather than listening to all the negativity in the news feeds, I wanted to believe that mankind has a certain desire to be generous, to be compassionate, and to be kind. So I set out to prove just that, learning a lesson or two in the meantime. 

     The story starts on my mother's birthday. I had planned all week on what gifts to buy for her and what I could do to make her day just as special as she was to me. After all, without her, I wouldn't be here! So I thought and thought, and consulted many people until finally I came up with the perfect birthday plans. I bought her a blender - but not just any ordinary blender. I bought her THE blender. The one she had been eyeing for months on end. Our blender had broken months ago due to it's old age and overuse, but my mom insisted that with Christmas and all our birthdays coming soon, she could get by without one for now. You see, my mom wasn't the kind to buy things for herself, especially expensive things, and this blender wasn't a cheap one. But I knew she needed it. She used to make herself smoothies in the morning almost everyday. So without much thought, I bought the blender and waited to give it to her.

     Her birthday finally came and I set the blender on the kitchen table waiting for her to see. I went to her room and shouted a very annoying "Happy Birthday!" before grabbing my clothes and heading to the shower. Like most girls, my shower time is my thinking time. I thought of my blog and what I could write this week. Then, I thought of how I was just the greatest daughter in the whole wide world because I had bought my mom the best birthday present she could ask for. "Maybe that's what I'll write about!" I said to myself as I towel-dried my dripping wet hair. 

     I dressed and walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, expecting to see my mother admiring her brand new blender and imagining all the smoothies she could make for herself. But instead, I saw my mom pouring a freshly blended smoothie into four glass cups. "Thanks for the present sweetie," she said, as she handed me one of the glasses. I slowly sat down at the kitchen table looking down at the smoothie my mom had just made.

     "Thanks for the smoothie Mom." I replied slowly and thoughtfully.

     That's when I changed my idea for my blog. I couldn't write about how I was so great in buying my mom something she needed. That's not what this is about. My mom was the one who set the stage. Rather than being lazy, craving attention, and spoiling herself on her birthday like most people tend to do, she took the time to serve her family and put us before herself. That's charity to me. That's what life is about. Looking past    your needs, wants, and desires, and putting others before yourself. Today, good conquered evil.

The Cold Hard Truth

     Mankind, in the most natural of states, care only for themselves and surviving the world we live in. Take a baby for example. A baby's only cares are getting sufficient food, sleep, and being satisfied. Taking any of these necessities away would risk the life of the child and potentially threaten proper development. Taking away such vitality would be considered extremely unethical and crude. But what changes us from this adolescent state of wanting only what's best for us, into a more selfless, and in sense, ethical human being? But on another spectra, what keeps people from developing those compassionate emotions? Is the evil of the world corrupting the good? Or is the good overcoming the evil? In other words, is it human nature to feel such strong emotions like love and empathy, or is it in fighting off the natural man that we find the heart to be a generous human being.
     In current headlines, newspaper articles, and other media updates, we constantly see the evil seeping through. School shootings, kidnappings, burglaries, break ins, bombings, homicides, bullying, - it's everywhere! It's confusing to consider the possibilities of this kind of behavior in our society. We would all like to believe that mankind is compassionate, loving, and incapable of such actions. But we know it's as real as ever. We'd love to believe that being a sympathetic person is second nature; Men tend to be kind to one another. But finding out the truth of this matter is the real challenge.
     I'd love to believe man is naturally good, only corrupted by the evil of the world. Overcoming the evil is the true challenge of life.Those little moments when good conquers the evil are truly the precious moments in life.