Midnight in the garden

Sometimes the evil wins.  Been thinking that a lot lately.  Sometimes the evil wins for a long time.  Sometimes the evil wins the battles.  Sometimes the evil wins for so long that we can't even know a life without evil.  What we call "evil" can be a lot of things.  It can be violence.  Hate.  Depression.  Addiction.  Not holding a door open for someone else.  Trolling on the internet.  Stubbing your toe?

I'm not sure I believe in any sort of otherworldly, non-corporeal Evil that underlies all these different evils.  I'm not sure I believe in an a priori dichotomy of evil and good.  I can't quite get behind the concept of karma.  I do believe to some degree that we get from the world what we put into it, but some get more and some get less, so it's an unjust karma, if at all, and that doesn't seem trustworthy as Spiritual Principle.

Regardless, my orientation to the world, to knowledge, and my ability to obtain knowledge, is one that is inherently value-laden, and that value says that good exists in all and that good can, and does, ultimately overcome evil.

Like evil, I'm not sure I can bracket it, but I do know that good is lots of things.  Good can be given.  Good can be received.  It can be planned.  It can be random.  Good is warmth.  Love.  Happiness.  Freedom.  A kind deed.  A random statement of support from a stranger.  Good is also walking in the park.  Patting a kind dog.  Creating.  Laughing.  Adventure.  New friends.  A long chat.  A cool, humid night at the beach.  Reconnecting.  Feeling accomplished.  A rightful deed.  Acknowledgement.  Prayers.  Hugs.  Beliefs.  Strengths.  Common and uncommon goods.  A baby, or a pet, napping on you.  A flower.  A creek for exploring.  A champion.  A kid who tries hard.  A kid who's lucky.  A memory.  A warm day.  A story.  Truth and justice.

There are a lot of little goods in the day to day.  There are some that take longer.  There are some we may never know.  But it's hard to keep a good unknown.  Good always overwhelms an evil in the long-run.  Think of all the evil we've righted in the decades we've been alive.  Even the struggle itself is a kind of good.  Sometimes, knowing the struggle is good is all that we need to keep going.

It's been a long few days.  I thought about this album and how, without words, it tells me about the magic of exploring in the forest.  I don't have any nearby childhood forests at the moment, but I feel this is a Good to share with the world and that's a pretty similar feeling.