Being “good” for all the wrong reasons

“Without knowing it, we…work hard at cutting a path to our deeper self that waits patiently for us to arrive, all tired, aching, and out of breath. Once that path is cleared and once the being at our center is discovered, we can return to the world in relationship with our soul. We can discover a deeper, more peaceful sense of home.” —Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening

Being a “goody two shoes” is not all it’s cracked up to be!

According to Wikipedia, “Goody Two-Shoes is a variation of the Cinderella story. The fable tells of Goody Two-Shoes, the nickname of a poor orphan girl named Margery Meanwell, who goes through life with only one shoe. When a rich gentleman gives her a complete pair, she is so happy that she lets everyone know that she now has two shoes. Later, Margery becomes a teacher and marries a rich widower. This earning of wealth serves as proof that her virtue has been rewarded.”

Now wait a minute, Margery! You certainly deserve two shoes, you should not be happy going through life with only one. That will surely ruin your gait. Going barefoot would be better than walking with one, or having two that are mismatched. This story is proof that meaning well and proving our own virtue, while both sound good and may make us look good, can sometimes lead us astray, and on to someone else’s path instead of our own.

There is something not right about being TOO good, or trying TOO hard, or being satisfied with TOO little. Sometimes we find virtue in crumbs and maybe wait around for empty rewards when really what we need to do is find and change our shoes for ourselves.

That may mean stepping into shoes that are stained and tattered, but if they fit right and are all ours there is some virtue in that. We should reach out to help each other, and we need to learn how to accept help at the right times, but sometimes you just have to dress yourself.

You can find me at “A Tiny Light” (My Facebook Page).