Good Deeds.

[Niamh]

I have this inablity to say no... so a lot of the time i end up doing things for people i really wish i didnt have to.
On the other hand, there is this huge part of me that always wants to help people. Its also part of my spiritual belief. If someone does something for me, i'll reciprocate, but i never expect anything in return for anything i personally do for someone in need. The simple thought that i helped someone is reward enough.
So i try to fill my life with good deeds. I believe we all should help when needed. :) We should all be there for those around us regardless of whether we like some of those people or not.
Unfortunately, sometimes, a good nature can be taken advantage of. On more than one ocassion i myself have heard this from someone close to me, that i've always been there for certain people but that the minute i needed them, they ran. It doesnt matter. Yes it can be upsetting and a bit disappointing, but it wouldnt stop me from being there for them or anyone who needed me for that matter.
So i decided to set up this thread for all of us to write our good deeds down. :)
So if you did a good deed today, why not tell us about it here.

Niamh

[Stargazer86]

Good karma at it's finest. Though sometimes, especially if it puts you out or inconveniences you, it's nice to be recognized for it.

I'm mostly hiding out from people today, but if I find one of our elderly patients in need, I'll post again. ;)

[AimusSage]

A deed intended for good can easily turn into great evil. Isn't there a saying for these things? The road to hell is paved with good intentions

I prefer not to do good deeds, just deeds. If they turn out for the better, fine, if somehow it turns for worse, no big worries their either, maybe just a slight concern for my own well-being.

If someone were to ask me if I could get him some rat poison so he can get rid of the vermon in his shed, I might think I'd be doing him a service, a good thing perhaps (unless you 're an animal rights activist, but that's just silly) but what if the 'vermin' is his mother in law? How a good deed turns to great evil. It's an exaggerated example, but this happens all the time, often a desire to do good will only result in super duper mega evil. Hitler thought he was doing a good thing to rid the world of the Jews and other inferior humans. Some agreed, a lot more disagreed, it's simply the vision of the majority that he is evil.

Without going further in-depth with all sorts of theories and whatnot, I'll leave it at this because I like to seem opinionated rather than well informed.

Edit: I almost forgot, I did do a good deed today, I bought some juice for a flatmate, here's hoping he doesn't get sick or die from drinking it. :)

[motherhubbard]

I agree with you, Naimh. It is important to do what we can. However, I don't like to tell what I've done. I find a greater reward in the secret.

I have had things go terribly wrong for me when trying to help. I think it is important to consider what the greatest help for each person would be. Some people just can't be helped and some people will hate you for attempting. I still believe in trying though. I think that the best kind of help is where NO ONE knows you are the helper- not even the person you are helping.

[Whifflingpin]

Remember - "No good deed goes unpunished!"

[Stargazer86]

Niamh- I posted a thread awhile back (and I was the only one who ever posted on it :lol:) called "Wonderful World" about sharing positive stories. It's from msnbc.com where they have a "Wonderful World" section. You may be interested in checking it out

[SleepyWitch]

I've got a bit of a helping-people thing too, but I only help people when they ask me for help or advice, be it directly or indirectly. Sometimes I don't even give people advice even if they ask me for it when I think the issue is too personal. E.g. I knew this one girl who at age 26 still didn't know what she wanted to do in life, wanted to get away from her family but at the same time live with mummy forever and was desperately looking for a boyfriend although she doesn't like sex. So she badgered me and another friend about the sex issue but I didn't get involved because I can't tell her what it is she wants if she doesn't know it herself at 26 years old. Plus, even though she was divulging very personal things, I didn't feel we were close enough to talk about that kind of thing and I didn't want to poke my nose in her messed up psyche. Just an example... Sometimes it's better to let people sort out their own issues.

As for people who run when you need them, what does your intuition tell you? I can usually spot the friend collectors who will run if I rely on my intuition. Has it ever betrayed you? If so, maybe it's because you are too good-natured and don't want to see people's bad character till you've got proof of it (happens to me a lot :) ).



I prefer not to do good deeds, just deeds. If they turn out for the better, fine, if somehow it turns for worse, no big worries their either, maybe just a slight concern for my own well-being.

If someone were to ask me if I could get him some rat poison so he can get rid of the vermon in his shed, I might think I'd be doing him a service, a good thing perhaps (unless you 're an animal rights activist, but that's just silly) but what if the 'vermin' is his mother in law? How a good deed turns to great evil. It's an exaggerated example, but this happens all the time, often a desire to do good will only result in super duper mega evil. Hitler thought he was doing a good thing to rid the world of the Jews and other inferior humans. Some agreed, a lot more disagreed, it's simply the vision of the majority that he is evil.


:ladysman: (omg, Nighty will be jealous. poor Aimus, I was looking for a hugging smilie but we don't seem to have one).

hehe, I sometimes think about this when I give a homeless guy a cigarette. He wants to smoke so it's a good deed to give him a cigarette. On the other hand, he might die of lung cancer and I helped him along. But then, he's old enough to decide for himself.

[JBI]

It's come to the point, where if someone on the street asks me if I have a second, I keep walking, and don't acknowledge them. I'm downtown most of the day, and there are pan handlers everywhere, and fundraisers sitting beside them, who never leave.

Beyond that though, I think of myself as reliable, but I don't particularly believe in "good deeds" as a form of moral obligation - more as a conscious choice of character. This emphasis put on the "righteous" thing to do, really downplays the whole concept of a good deed all together. In my view, for the deed to be "good" it can only be judged on its affect, and its cause becomes irrelevant. Still though, the whole notion of good deed is always capitalized upon by some sort of mooch - so generally I find myself doing good things for people I know, and for people who evidently need it, rather than from those who make a living out of "good deeds", or those who evidently want to only take, and never return any sort of favor.

[NikolaiI]

This reminds me of a story..


One day, a famous government official, who was also a poet, was passing along a road. He saw an old monk teaching Buddhism. This was hardly unusual except that the monk was seated on a tree branch. The official asked the elderly monk what he was doing. After all, the monk was in a very precarious position. One wrong move and he could fall to his death!

The monk replied that the official’s position was even more precarious. If the monk made a careless move, he alone might be killed. But if the official made a mistake, it could cost the lives of thousands. The official considered this and decided that it was a very good reply. He told the monk that if he could explain the essence of Buddhism in one sentence, then he would become the monk’s student. "Easy!" said the monk. "The essence of Buddhism is to avoid all that is evil, to embrace all that is good, and to purify one’s mind." The official scoffed, "Is that all? Even a child of three knows that!" The monk replied that while it was true that a child of three may realize it, there was no certainty that a man of eighty could practice it.

http://www.abrc.org.au/introduction.htm

[Nightshade]

:ladysman: (omg, Nighty will be jealous. poor Aimus, I was looking for a hugging smilie but we don't seem to have one).


Waaaaaaaaaah? :confused: you have the worng person sleepy! DO you WANT opti to come after me with an ax? I know its so I ca't invade you when you come to england isn't it :bawling: ? *looks around desperatly and runs for shelter*
:p ;)

But before I go into hiding, I was actually thinking about the whole ethics of giving charity on Friday. There was a guy asking for money and I only have 14 pence in my pocket ( I was on the way to an ATM.) so I just emptied my pockets and gave him everything I had.
Now I know someone who will goive money to Charities but never to beggers, because you have no garntee they wont use it for drugs, and OD off the mmoney you gavce them and thus you may actually Kill them.
Also I cant help but wonder why they aren't on state benifits.
And for that matter if you give something to a charity how do you know it really is a charity and not a front for say Villians wanting to take over the world INC ( or some other parties we don't want to support)
So is giving something in good faith enough or is The road to hell is paved with good intentions.?

[Sapphire]

It is not that easy to define a "good deed". Is it all in the intention? As mentioned, the road to hell is paved with good intentions" - it makes you wonder what the road to heaven is paved with. It does not say that it is paved with good DEEDS - I always thought the idea of that quote was that you should not keep on thinking about it but act upon it. Try to DO "good", not to talk about doing it :p
However, I see the worries about actually doing something "good" and getting a negative result. I am afraid that's the way of the world: we can not totally control the outcome of our actions.

The "law of unintended consequences" (also called the "law of unforeseen consequences") states that any purposeful action will produce some unintended consequences. A classic example is a bypass — a road built to relieve traffic congestion on a congested road — that attracts new development and with it more traffic, resulting in two congested streets instead of one.

This maxim is not a scientific law; it is more in line with Murphy's law as a warning against the hubristic belief that humans can fully control the world around them. Stated in other words, each cause has more than one effect, and these effects will invariably include at least one unforeseen side effect. The unintended side effect can potentially be more significant than any of the intended effects.
It is bitter. People can have the best intentions and totally destroy somebodies live, while somebody with bad intentions accidentally saves it. It does happen. And yes, the result is important - but if somebody wants to do something bad to somebody else and in the process actually helps that other person. Does that mean (s)he has done a good deed? I don't think so. So if you do a good deed (a deed with good intentions) and it leads into a bad result, does that make the good deed a bad one? It certainly makes you regret it...

Sorry, babbling on - I am just very interested in this matter :)

My good deed of the day? Waking up my roommate to double check whether he won't be too late for his finals - and making him coffee ;) It's rather a custom than a good deed though :p
Or no: a small gesture. That is what it is. A gesture :D

[Tournesol]

No Sapphire, waking your roommate for his exams IS a good deed - face it - you're a good person! lol

My good deed for the day? Well, my day's barely begun, it's 05.58 where I am...but I intend to be good with my students today. How's that? I'm making a good intention.

[Scheherazade]

Remember - "No good deed goes unpunished!"*raises her tea cup*

Hear, hear!

[Niamh]

I mean good deeds as in, helping someone locate something the lost and giving it back to them... :( I think helping people is a good thing. but then again i do understand what you all mean of concequences...

[Shalot]

Well, instead of setting out to do a good deed, I just try to put good out there, whenever I can and whenever the opportunity presents itself. And also, it depends on what motivates you to do a good deed. Like, if someone is doing good deeds to feed their own egos then they need to keep their good deeds in check. And I've been guilty of doing good deeds for selfish reasons too.

[livelaughlove]

I love helping people too. I am a big people pleaser and I just want to make others happy. I feed off the positive energy that comes back to me. Maybe its selfish but I feel that everybody needs positive energy and the more, the better. I'm not going to perform a task just for that - because that would be doing it for the wrong reasons - but what's wrong with enjoying and rejoicing with someone else in their happiness?

[blazeofglory]

Good deeds expect a great amount of sacrifice. In the history of evolution there is no anything good or bad. Look at the jungle law wherein survival of the fittest or mightiest takes place.

You cannot survive without feeding on others or annihilating the existence of others.

[JuniperWoolf]

My good deed: my friend told me that I couldn't come over to his house tonight to watch the Griffin fight because it was "just guys" and I didn't break his face.
(You know, it's funny. I'm the only one in our posse who has a black belt, but somehow because I happen to have a vagina I don't know jack about fighting. :flare::flare::flare:)

[The Comedian]

I helped a box turtle cross the road -- stopped my car, got out, and carried the little fella to the other side. The last thing this world needs is more squished turtles.