Just Be Good (reflection on a meaningful life)
You know, someone very special to me warns me on occasion about living “in my feelings”. Maybe this is not a popular phrase where you live, but in the Southern United States, it’s a pretty common phrase these days. And, depending on the situation, is frowned on where over-emoting does not contribute to the solution.
But today, if you’ll allow me, I want to stay “in my feelings” just a bit and share something with you. Hopefully, when our time together is through, you receive another boost of encouragement to do and complete with joy, “good” pride and tenacity the task(s) God put in your hand.
I watched a feature on Netflix called “Nicky’s Family.” For weeks I scrolled by it but still kind of drawn. I’m so glad I watched it, as it was the complete story of Sir Nicholas Winton, the man who rescued hundreds of children from destruction around the Second World War. The end of the documentary includes interviews from many youth and young adult people who help others because Nicky Winton’s example inspires them to make a difference. Here’s one of his great statements quoted several times in the documentary.
If it is fundamentally reasonable, then it is not impossible.
Isn’t that wonderful? There really are no limits. The documentary, released in 2011, said that at that time Winton’s “family” was at least 5700 people — the extended families of the children he rescued. Consider how well over 6000 people that number may be today.
I cried and cried with Nicky Winton (who cried too in the footage), and thought about us. I thought about how we do all this moving and cry about progress. I thought about all the contacts we gather in hopes that they remember us in the future and use their social capital to help us get to our next place. I thought about how we “sow” to “grow” our budding empires…or, just the ideas still on the paper or saved in that hardly touched file.
Do we still care about having a meaningful life, with a legitimate legacy? (if we cared at all)
My immediate circle consists of entrepreneurs who labor intensely for active income, and have real plans for the passive income transition. They do wonderful work that not nearly enough people know about because they are unknowns. It’s a brutal cycle that encourages “the grind”. Keep proving your already worthy self to the decision makers and hope and pray and hope some more that they think you’re “ready” for the “big leagues” — apart from your years of experience, gifting, and passion for what you do and produce.
This documentary did not “take me back” in the sense of I need to do better, as I feel the message is my current stance. I want a life that matters. These blogs, and all the other things I write — for myself and for others — are to keep speaking for and after me. They are to speak for you when you cannot find your words. They are to be a safe counselor when you cannot find answers or solace. They are meant as truth and power in your weak, lonely and solitary moments…when no one gets that weird creative streak or “aha” that prompts you to do what you do. My words help sort through stuff, I hope, to translate giftedness to others.
What “Nicky’s Family” did for me was urge me on the ordained path. So I urge you. Stick with it. Stick to it. Do it anyway. In an age of dissolving values and meshing complaints, keep shining. Keep sharing light and joy with others. Even when they respond in cynical nothingness…or grunts. Continue on your God-given path and look ahead to legacy and what lives on behind you. Consider that those you help now are the fuel for your later movement. WE WASTE NO ACTION, even if it ends negatively or unfavorably.
Then I had a thought about childhood warnings from my mother. I’d go play, or go anywhere, and she’d say, “Be good!” Built in to those little words are the 1) confidence that I wouldn’t embarrass the family and 2) the expectation that I exceed her requirements. I mulled on those words for a few minutes.
be. good.
It’s not apart from God’s word to be good. In fact He created us for good works. In the process we learn about things that have to happen to get our messages out there — photo shoots, business cards, flyers, events, fundraisers, social media presence, and more. And in doing what we have to in order to do what we want, we can get stuck or caught up…and we stop the goodness that is our core mission, vision and purpose.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Remember that what we do matters more NOW than it did when we bounced ideas off of our peanut galleries, and drew our inspirations on everything from paper to paper towels. It matters more now because the temptation to compromise the core message is greater, as is the deception that we need to change the message to increase our audience.
It’s okay if what you have and do and produce is not for the masses. Success is reaching your intended audience, and letting what you do, do them some good! This is long, but authentic. This is me — doing what I do with words — hoping to do you some good.
So I lovingly warn you like Mama did me: BE GOOD! Make time to revisit your core…and be pleased to do that with everything in you for one, or one million. Let the fame be extra, not primary. Just keep building, and if you need more words to help you…
I
will
be here. Selah.
Image: Be a Good Memory
Blogs I Follow
The Bereans' Commentary with Shaunta D. Scroggins, Ed.D. 
