I was having a conversation with a friend of mine the other day. We were discussing the realities of life and all of that kind of nonsense. We got on the subject of how certain people really come off as good people, but that isn't necessarily always who or what they truly are. Sometimes when someone looks like a good person, they're completely the opposite. For example, when someone seems to be good, but they're really doing all that they are doing for themselves. Does that make them a good person? I believe the answer to that is, no.
 
I think we all know what a bad person is. That's pretty obvious. Anybody who does anything negative to any other person and/or any other living and/or inanimate thing. Bad is always bad. That doesn't stop people from doing it. That doesn't stop people from wanting things they don't truly deserve. That doesn't stop people from taking things that isn't theirs. That doesn't stop people from making money off of the labor of other people and the creations of other people.
 
But, all of that goes to the crux of the matter, when a person does what they do, believing that they're doing it for a reason, even if that reason is only to make themselves that something more, or that's something richer, can that ever be seen as good?
 
I can say that we all should fight back against people that hurt other people. But, most people aren't up for the fight. Why? Because all they can truly think about is themselves. And, most don't want to get their knuckles bloody. I get it.
 
But, let's get back more onto the subject. What actually makes a good person good?
 
I think there's some obvious definitions of that. But, there's also a lot of gray area in all of this. I mean, sometimes it's just somebody looking like they're doing something nice, but they have their own ulterior motives. Maybe they're making some bank off of the things they're doing that nobody knows about. And, even though they may look like a good Samaritan doing what they're doing, what they're doing is being done for very selfish, and not known to the masses, reasons.
 
More to the point, perhaps, if we look at people and how they make their living, I think that really reveals a lot about who and what a good or a bad person truly is.
 
My friend and I, while we were having our discussion, we got talking about this one individual. He's very well respected in this one specific area of life. He's been around forever. And, he's very well known. The thing was/is, he spent the majority of his life making a living by owning a liquor store. What do they sell at a liquor store? Obviously, liquor. What does liquor do? Sure, it makes some people have a little bit of fun, but it also damages and kills a lot of people. What else are liquor stores known for selling? Cigarettes. Personally, I never understood why anybody smokes cigarettes. It serves absolutely no life purpose except to eventually kill a person, and, in the mean time, to damage the environment of anybody who's around that person who smokes.

I mean, what is a liquor store owner and the people that work there? Basically, they're drug dealers. And, what is the karma in that?

But again, here was this person, making their living selling these deadly drugs. Yet, they are well thought of is a specific community and they come off as a good and knowing person. But, are they? How could they be if they choose that for their profession? Didn’t their livelihood hurt or kill a lot of people?
 
I believe this all boils down to something that everybody really needs to think about, especially when it comes to making their living. If what you are doing to make a living is hurting somebody/anybody, how can you consider that as something good? And, because you are the one participating, how can you ever be seen as a good person?
 
Ultimately, all of our lives are defined by what we do, and who we do it to. For some of us, we hope to be a good influence on other people and to the world. We hope to do good things. But, for any of us, if we don't truly study what we are doing, no matter what the motivation is, to make a living, then who and what are we, if what we do hurts people on any level? Can we ever be considered a good person?
 
So, the next time you're thinking about whether or not a person is actually a good person, take a good hard look at them and their lifestyle. Research what they do with their lives. And, how what they are doing with their life, is doing to others?
 
You may not be able to control anybody else. That's a fact. But, you can control yourself. Thus, the bigger question, (the biggest question), comes down to what are you doing with your life? Is what you are doing truly good? Is it helping and hurting no one? Mostly, from what you are doing, can you truly be considered a good person.
 
Are you a good person?