SERVING THE GREATER GOOD

I once walked to this meadow each morning to take in the beauty and at times, capture the sunrise. The meadow became my treasured sacred space that was an easily traveled distance from home. So, I was quite disappointed when plans were then made to turn the meadow into a recreational facility, yet grateful that it would serve as an outdoor gathering space.

While the park was under construction, I mostly avoided the area, but last weekend I returned…

The park is impressive but, on that morning, it was filled with lots of activity; there were baseball games and a disc golf tournament, as well as parents and children on the playground. “So much for my solitude time,” I selfishly thought. But as I continued along my route, I observed joyful smiles and laughter, competitive camaraderie, and pregame nervous anticipation. My heart softened.

And I thought, “This park is serving the greater good. Yes, the change was a significant loss for me, but now it is a lovely gift for many.”

What leads to serving the greater good?

Sometimes it is accepting our individual sacrifice for the betterment of others, such as losing “my” meadow for this recreational park.

But it can also be our collective inconvenience for the greater good of the few, such as using a portion of our taxes to help provide for those in need. Or the one individual sacrifice that helps one other person, such as taking time to rake a neighbor’s yard. Or the collective inconvenience for the collective good, such as all of us making changes to care for the earth’s environment. And finally, to serve the greater good means that we prioritize what is important in our individual lives; balancing self-preservation and self-sacrifice, discerning the issues on which we will stand firm, the privileges we will concede.

Serving the greater good is less about numbers and more about impact. When we consider what choices to make, what actions to take in order to foster this greater good, we might first ask ourselves, “What will bring about God’s greater goodness? What will bring more of the better gifts, such as joy, peace, nourishment, beauty, hope, comfort, justice?”

May we each begin there.

Let’s be about leaving this world better than we find it each and every day. Our life is a testimony and through us divine loving is becoming more manifest. Greater good is calling upon us here in this world to be done this day… let’s go out and do some good. This is who we are. This is what we are about.
~ John Morton



(Photos by Karen)