The Good and The Bad

"If he was a good person he wouldn't have lied and wouldn't have cheated. He's bad because he lied and wasn't honest. She was real nice, she behaved real good and handled the situation pretty well. It is difficult to understand why she is still thinking about such a bad, cold, and dark person. Maybe it's not him she's thinking about, she thought he was a good person as naive as she is because she is such a kind, loving good person herself. It is almost impossible for her to think badly of someone, although she knows there can be evil people. Or, there is something else effecting her, prompting her. In either case; She was mistaken. He is bad and evil."
My Story.
I was prompted to write about good and bad by one of my yoga teachers while thinking about what to write about. Then, I started to think- What is this good and bad? -and realized that not only me, but we all think of certain things, people, etc as good and bad every second of our lives. Such as...'what a bad tomato and how bad that guy was trying to sell me those awful tomatoes...or 'She gave me a big tip she must be a good person' or 'Oh, they got a divorce, oh no how awful!' etc...It also seems to me people have an inclination towards seeing or labeling things more in the 'Bad' category than the 'Good' which also bothers me. Why do we have to label something or someone as good or bad? Is there really such things as good and bad or is all just good or just bad? And could there be a reason why even Michael Jackson has a famous song singing "I'm Bad." (I love him and this song by the way) So, I have no idea what this all means yet.
But this book I just finished reading (and I love it) also made me think about good and bad.
" Takahashi: After I'd been to the court..and observed a few cases...I found myself less and less able to see these as other people's problems...They're a different kind of human being...Between the world they live in and the world I live in there's this thick, high wall...I'm a pacifist, a good-natured guy...As I sat in court, though, and listened...I became a lot less sure of myself...there really was no such thing as a wall separating their world from mine. Or if there was such a wall, it was probably a flimsy one...the second I leaned on it, I'd probably fall right through and end up on the other side. Or maybe it's that the other side has already managed to sneak its way inside of us, and we just haven't noticed..This system..'trial' thing began to take on the appearance of..a giant octopus..it has this tremendously powerful life force..moving through the darkness of the ocean..nobody knows where its heart is... There was this case of arson and murder..the guy was sentenced to death..the obvious sentence...all of a sudden..everything got one step darker..colder..Why did I have to lose it like that just because that guy got the death penalty?..Between him and me, there shouldn't have been anything in common, no link at all..and yet, I had this deep emotional upset...What I want to say is...any single human being, no matter what kind of a person he or she may be, is all caught up in the tentacles of this animal like a giant octopus, and is getting sucked into the darkness. You can put any kind of spin on it you like, but you end up with the same unbearable spectacle."
Haruki Murakami - After Dark
After Dark (Vintage International)
At this moment, I'm inclined to think that yes there is good and bad and both good and bad is part of each individual person, situation, thing... Just like there is nothing Perfect. Or if there is we can't comprehend it. I have to admit, in the beginning of my journey of writing this I first thought no matter how bad it may seem, all is really good, (trying to think positively) but now I see that no matter how bad it is, there is also always good in it. In other words, this is all about accepting the little bits of good and little bits of bad crumbles on our path because my crumbles could seem like needles for someone else and theirs could seem like diamonds to me. I feel that these crumbles that on occasion could be perceived as good or on another occasion as bad, actually lead us the way...to the unknown perhaps, but it is the way or the road we as individuals are supposed to be on. So, the good and bad in each person works for them, not to mention the percentage of good and bad probably varies all the time. A person with a certain percentage of good and bad may not always work for me or the good in me might not work for someone whereas the bad in me might work for that person...such and such...it seems it is really just accepting everything as it is, with the good and bad in it, whatever percent they appear as, and decide if it works for you or not...But of course, this is all so ambiguous.
Later, this same yoga teacher noted: If we said good to something just because it says it's good, then there wouldn't be any bad (non-good) things left. If we were to say bad to something that says bad to something else, then there wouldn't be any good (non-bad) things left.
So there is no good nor bad! Noooo
Aaaaaa! All these notes, my story, part of Murakami's story and other stuff piling up in my head. And all this time the murderer from the movie Infamous is in my head. Is there any need for all these? I mean why and how can we be effected by such unexpected and unknown sources? I feel sadness and a bit of fear thinking I too have some bad as well as good just like each one of you. I don't know the percentages, but that varies I suppose. How and Why? These could be unnecessary questions. Isn't that the mystery of life...or is it a miracle? Think it's simply Gorgeous!
It is hard to explain, and this is all so confusing and maybe even silly to think about for some people. But confusion can be a good thing...it prompts us to pull back and to look within for a better perspective that give us peace of mind.
To find this peace of mind, I end with some beautiful words by Rumi;
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field.
I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about.

So, let us all meet There...