BENEVOLENCE
Benevolence is a word that should be trending right now. Note that I said SHOULD BE. It should be very relevant in today’s world. It should appear readily in every search engine optimization mechanism.
But that is not the case.
Rather than delving into the why or why not, let’s be clear on what it is. Benevolence is a desire to do good to others, to be charitable with a stranger, to act kindly towards someone for no particular or apparent reason or motive.
Someone is benevolent when they enjoy, desire, and look forward to helping others. That is not where our overall society is today. Most of us would tend to agree that our world today could use some more benevolence. As people, overall, we have become unsettled, agitated, irritable, short-tempered, short-sighted, and in some cases extremely intolerant of other human beings.
We can be quick to demonize others for having a different viewpoint than ours. I am not addressing a political viewpoint here. I would never be that disrespectful to you by doing so. My focus is to always help us to be better people. Better, that’s all.
Due to the increased complexities of our world, and 24-hour information sharing from other viewpoints we get a front-row seat on what others think about, and what they want us to think about a situation.
We hear from everyone and every perspective on the spectrum. As technology has increased, so too has our biases, prejudice, and intolerances. The idea has been perpetuated that everyone is the enemy. Everybody is a hater, so we should hate them right back!
That perspective comes at the high price of no social or personal care for anyone. It evokes, it is all about me mentality, which is the exact opposite of benevolence. Just because we are benevolent doesn’t mean we don’t believe in justice.
We must become the justice we demand, which is to treat everyone with love and respect, “benevolence”. As we become more benevolent, the world will become more balanced in justice. Some might say that is a bold statement. But clearly what we are doing now is not working, why not try something new.
Love(benevolence) can and will conquer ALL.
One simple way to become more benevolent is by trying harder to make more positive assumptions about people and events. Give others the benefit of the doubt, like we want to be given.
Gandhi said, “The simplest acts of kindness are more powerful than a thousand heads bowed in prayer”. I call that, people showing they’re kindness, rather than talking about kindness. We must become the benevolence we seek. We don’t want to be known for wanting good, we want to be known for doing good.
If we will be willing to step out of our personal comfort zones and desire to do good and offer friendliness, compassion, decency, kindness, forgiveness, no judgment, generosity, and love to strangers, other cultures, other families, other communities, we can make our world more benevolent.
Here is a final word from my Faith Manual, A generous person will prosper, whoever refreshes others will themselves be refreshed.
This is a Thompson Truth
