Thursday Thoughts...

“To be a good human being is to have a kind of openness to the world, an ability to trust uncertain things beyond your own control.” 

Martha Nussbaum

This is another interesting thought that I have pondered this way and that. The thing that most grabs me is the suggestion that openness and I guess acceptance (of things beyond our control) are what make for a good human being.

Most suggestions regarding being a decent or good human tend to focus on the actions and the attitudes towards others. Do this. Don't do that, kind of thing.

This seems to say it is about your attitude to the living of life in general - your openness to the world. As well as acceptance of how little in this world we can control. Could this be a counterpoint, suggesting that people who seek to control things may not be good??? Eek.

Perhaps there is something in the understanding of the word good? Perhaps it's not about being a good person per se, but more about living a good life as human?

I nevertheless think that these two things (openness and acceptance), are both key understandings, approaches and attributes to help you live a good life, maybe rather than be a good person.