Have you noticed that whenever we decide we want to change something we feel inspired to something "good"? But what is good? How do we know that what starts with our good intentions won't have unintended bad results?
Well, we don't know. But this is probably why the major spiritual traditions don't start their spiritual paths with an exhortation to go out and do good.
First do no harm!
Have you ever thought what sort of a place the world would be if everybody did no harm? It would be amazing! There would be no wars. No one would be ripping anybody else off. There would be no corruption. No one would be nasty about anyone else. No one would steal or covet or murder. Is this starting to sound familiar?
What the Traditions teach us
The three monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) all start the same way with their followers. They give them a list of commandments - most of which fall into the category of "do no harm" e.g. do not kill, do not steal, do not commit adultery etc., etc. I don't know enough about Buddhism or Hinduism or other faiths to comment but I suspect they have a similar code. So why would this be? Because, put simply, if we all did no harm there would be little need for anyone to do good, but - and this is the important point - if you do no harm then you are intrinsically good and then whatever you do is likely to have a good outcome.
Is it possible?
Yes. I believe it's possible. Is it easy? No, but then no spiritual growth comes easily. I believe this is the first step to permanent personal and global change. Try it and see how you go. My mother used to say "If you can't say anything good about someone then don't say anything at all". That's not a bad place to start. See if you can catch yourself before you do or say something that may hurt someone else because if you do then you've made a REAL difference. What's more you've taken the first step to changing yourself and that's a first step to changing the world.
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