Are you a good person?

     No you're not. You may do good things now and then, but no one is totally good all the time. No one is "a good person." We're good. We're bad. We're kind. We're mean-spirited sometimes.
     In other words—we're human.
     Former President George W. Bush called Iraq, North Korea and Iran "the evil axis." Iran called us "the great Satan." See, even nations get into the idea that they are 100% one way. It's so silly really. And it's not just that it's faulty thinking. It's self-destructive thinking. And not just for nations. How?
     When you deny a part of yourself, any part, you are making yourself incomplete. You are making yourself  less than you are. You will pay for that. And our thinking that we're "good" plays into that, as well.
     Here's an example. You love your mother. No doubt about it. But your mother's been bossy and trying to run your life and talking about how your house could use a good cleaning etc etc. And this has been going on for years and IT IS REALLY GETTING TO YOU. Sometimes, just sometimes, you'd like to LET DEAR OLD MOM HAVE IT!
     But you're a good person. And you love your mother. So you could never be thinking such terrible thoughts about your mother. Right?
     Wrong. You do think them and if you repress them, sooner or later you will pay. Your psyche is not fooled. Maybe it will give you nightmares about hurting your mother. Maybe (if you persist long enough in the repression) it will give you ulcers or a heart problem. But you will not escape unscathed.
    So what's the answer? Beat up dear old mom every once in a while?
    Of course not. But we CAN and SHOULD allow ourselves be who we are and allow ourselves to be ourselves in our totality. Do you have the thought that you hate your mom every once in a while, then you have that thought. Or any other. Let yourself be yourself. You're not a good person.
     And that's a good thing.