THE GREATER GOOD

I often get so lost inside my own special plans and preparations that I lose sight of the only good worth going after – the greater good. It’s astonishing to me that I sometimes – usually, to be honest – think of myself as a small, separate existence in a universe of disparate and isolated specks, when the fact is that everything is folded perfectly together in a never-ending unity. I can no more be separate from anything else than a breeze can be separate from the sweeping winds of the earth’s weather patterns, and any good I’m trying to get for myself is never separate from the greater good found in this vast universe, from the distant and perfect stars to the unspoiled flecks of dust I find on my desk each day. The greater good is like the light of the supportive sunshine all around me, whereas any small, personal good is like some single, insignificant light that I think might be mine if I could just find it in the far distance. The sunshine is always present for me, even on dark days, and the greater good of this grand universe is equally present in every passing second, if I only open my eyes. Whether I live or die today, whether I succeed or fail, the unfolding universe will fill itself with ever more might and beauty moment by moment. The greater good will gather up my small comings and goings into its own satisfying unity, into the powers of far-off stars and smiles of friends and dust on a desk in Mystic.