Preacher Ruth Up In Here - How to Win at Life and get 20% off at Nando's

This was me on a really good day. I have plenty of those kinds of days, and I've begun to realise its a very internal thing as to whether a day is good or bad, and whether life is good or bad. Whether I am good or bad (and not "bad" in a cheeky way...). Let's just say, if there's anything in this world I want to be, I'm realising that nothing else matters unless I am good. 

When I was young, I grew up with the idea of to be a Christian means to be Christ-like. And so I was confused when the "Christians" I surrounded myself with (or rather, was surrounded by) were often not like the Bible or Christianity painted Christ to be. For that reason, I drifted away. From the church, and eventually whilst I never stopped believing there was a God, I stopped believing in a God. I stopped believing that this particular religious group that believed their word to be right over others were acknowledging first the simple rule of thumb to being Christ-like. To be a good person. When you follow the stories of Christ in the New Testament, you see that he was an average Joe who went fishing with his mates, caught up with his mum, raised a friend or two from the dead and was selfless. I mean, he was hung on a cross for humanity. Whether or not that's classed as insanity or a true act for mankind, it certainly wasn't a selfish act.

You can take the Bible as the be-all end-all manual to life, or you can treat it as a useful guide sometimes when your head isn't thinking straight. You can even look at it as if it's kind of like a Children's book, filled with morals and behavioural anecdotes. The cool thing is, despite all this, is whether or not the Bible is true, whether Jesus was a real man, the son of God in human form, or not, it actually does not matter to me. I mean, personally, it somewhat does because I have chosen to live in a world that is tumultuous with conflicting opinions and wars and environmental concerns with a faith in something that is objectively quite good. You see, if we are to be Christ-like, then surely knowing that this image of Christ as a good, humble, mild, generous, selfless person, someone who was loved not because he had any particular status (and in fact, it was his status that caused more hatred towards him than love by the general public), but because he was a good person. So to be Christ-like, is more often than not to simply be a good person. To radiate goodness. The word "goodness" is so perfectly simple, yet we overlook it all too often. 

For me, to be good isn't to iron my shirt and behave monotonously. It is to shrug my shoulders at the spilt porridge on my collar and to beam with energy the desire to be whole. I believe that it is life's greatest gift to use your physical presence, your actual presence, i.e. being there, and being there willingly, being there wholly and with the right intention. We balance, in this moment, being there for other people, and being there for ourselves. We balance the need to expend the positivity and goodness within us with the need for others to receive it. 

In a simple analogy, being a good person needn't be a huge endeavour. Sharing a belief because you're just so darn excited to share it needn't be conducted in a street preacher manner. It comes down to walking past someone and smiling at them. And this is my new habit. Every person that I pass by, that I have eye contact with, I smile. Not in a bare-teeth grin kinda way, but in a smile with the eyes. And it wasn't because I felt I had to, it was because it is an exchange which makes the two of you experience something good. 

And then eventually people start noticing this energy inside of you that just can't help but emerge. And they ask "what's gotten in to you?" or "why are you in such a good mood?". This is where you get to tell them, honestly and with a gratefulness for the moment to share, the reason. Whether that reason be a belief that the weather is so unbelievably good today and that's all because of a divine being, or that reason being that simply the weather is so unbelievably good today, you should share it. The word "share" gives the person receiving this response not just the response, but the opportunity to also have that same feeling. To maybe go from having a shitty morning because their alarm didn't go off to laughing that off because the sun is just so bright and the colours of the world around them so rich and dense and lovely. It is, in this way, selfless. And good.

So just be good. Be kind. Follow the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Be simple in your happiness. And allow the curiosity of others to pierce that bubble of energy that floats around you upon which point it will flow from you naturally and without prejudice or outward intention to inundate others with something that they may or may not be ready or willing to hear. When people are ready, if they're ready, they'll let you know through a smile or a question, not with a sign at a rally. What ever your world view is, or whatever your view on the day on the calendar that you are currently in, be good about the way you get to share it. Be selfless. 

ALSO THE NANDO'S DISCOUNT WAS A JOKE NO NANDO'S FOR YOU SORRY.