WXY 6

¹“But dad, what should I do, in this world? ²How do I become a good person?” ³“You love to ask the difficult questions, my child.” ⁴“But do you know the answer?” ⁵“I’m sorry, my child, but there is no simple answer to that question. ⁶Matters of good and bad are not easy, and they never will be, and it’s tragic, indeed. ⁷But it’s a blessing, too, because if good and bad were simple, I doubt we would be here at all, for it is only within the subtleties of good and bad where I have ever found duty. ⁸I can tell you what I believe, but that’s the best answer that I can give you.” ⁹“Please tell me, dad, because if there is anything that I need to do in this world, I need to do good.” ¹⁰“You continue to impress me. ¹¹But please remember, my child, life is sacred, even if it is not yours.” ¹²“Tell me, dad, tell me what you believe.” ¹³“I believe that to be a good person you must get out of bed, each day, ready to perform the duties which are called upon you. ¹⁴You must look in, at yourself, and understand that it is your responsibility to act, not the universe’s responsibility to give you meaning. ¹⁵And excuses may be a reason, but they are not enough, not in the way that I see it. ¹⁶Because even if you wish to do good, intent is not quite enough, either. ¹⁷Bad intentions are rare, I’ve found. ¹⁸But intentions are nothing more than the sticks and leaves used to build the fire of action. ¹⁹And when the fire warms hands or burns down forests it is not so important how it started.” ²⁰“That sounds so stressful. ²¹What if I accidentally let my fire go?” ²²“Oh, it’s very stressful, and it’s certainly not easy. ²³We are physical beings, me and you, and we are small, no match for the roaring furnace of the universe. ²⁴But that’s the beauty of it, in a way. ²⁵Because you can always push yourself to be better, always, my child, for there are no limits to faith. ²⁶That is what makes us human. ²⁷But please, don’t be too hard on yourself, my child, just be kind and be honest, and most importantly, never let go of your faith. ²⁸Fighting to do good is not a matter of right and wrong, or true and false. ²⁹It’s a matter of life and death.”