Is it easy to achieve good character?
Is it easy to achieve good character?
In principle, there is nothing difficult about being a person of good character. To do this, it is enough not to commit bad deeds, avoid sinful things and keep one’s tongue in check.
Thoughts and intentions, of course, must be pure. Never wish for others what you do not wish for yourself. Do not envy, do not covet someone else’s things. Yes, there is something of a long list. Being good does not seem to be difficult but not everyone succeeds. It appears that it is still not easy to be and remain a decent person.
It has long been the case that the family and public institutions “worked” in a common direction: to raise integral persons of high character. This can only be good - both for society and for the individual. Modern society, in my opinion, no longer sets itself the task of cultivating a spiritually healthy personality. Is it really enough to turn out to be just an individual - not like anyone else? No, this is not so, the goal is a little wider and combines sublime feelings with the search for spiritual ideals. There is religion that teaches people to understand what is “good” and what is “bad.” There are such concepts as morality, universal human values with their own rules and guidelines, which call on us to beware of everything bad. It turns out that the world today, as it was thousands of years ago, is in immersed in a struggle of opposites. Some are drawn to the edges of unbridled passions, while others do not submit to their endless desires.
Each side is happy with its choice.
Those who choose to pursue the joys of life will not understand the “gloomy” righteous. Those who strive for spiritual values will not agree with the eternal “holiday” that many would like to arrange for themselves. And against this background, it turns out that achieving good morals is not easy; the surrounding reality constantly reminds us of itself, beeps and beckons. Probably the first thing one can do is to choose a worthy company of people who have already succeeded in this direction. As leading personal growth experts teach, one needs to build a strategy, adhere to a plan and improve one’s skills every day.
Skills for becoming a person of high character.
To begin with, we exclude bad habits: not only smoking and the desire to achieve an altered state with the help of certain substances. This also includes natural character traits associated with slander, gossip, feelings of envy, pride and complacency. So gradually, step by step, we move forward and rid ourselves of harmful tendencies.
I remember a story (I forget the name) by the Soviet science and fiction writer Anatoly Zharenov, which I read in childhood, which talks about an experimental miracle drug that can improve human character, bifurcating the personality into positive and negative opposites. A person becomes better and better, and his phantom accumulates everything negative (the dream of a good half of humanity). Two substances cannot meet – so that the negative will die away and the happy possessor of a renewed character will continue to live as a completely different person. It is a great idea, but, alas, such a magic pill does not exist. I really liked the utopia about a beautiful metamorphosis in a magical way, without effort (and who would not?). In reality, you have to do everything yourself and by yourself. This, of course, is if there is a desire to achieve an improved version of oneself. Once again you must be convinced that there are no easy ways, especially in such important matters.
Adherence to the basic commandments “thou shalt not steal,” “thou shalt not kill,” etc. is not enough to become a person of good character. We must also try to be kind, good, helpful and pleasant with others.
A whole science.
Fortunately, there is a source from which one can obtain knowledge, and there are even ready-made instructions for use. The book of the Mufti of Dagestan by the venerable Sheikh Ahmad-Afandi “The Virtues of the Righteous” is, in my opinion, the most accessible, clearly presented and easy-to-use source for self-development. If one follows the advice from this book, by the end of reading it, a person will definitely become different. Anyone who reads this book will at least understand their weak points, “sores,” and will be able to work on themselves to get rid of them.
If, by the will of the Almighty, you manage to achieve success and become a person of good character (usually pure people always doubt their achievements), you should not rest on your laurels and think that there is no need to make further efforts. Here one of Satan’s tricks may lie in wait for us, which suggests that we are better than those others, that we do not commit blameworthy things and that we have excellent qualities. It is probably harder to stay at the top than to attain it. There is always a danger of sliding back down. Therefore, work on oneself must continue until death. We only make efforts and the result is from the Almighty.
