Goodness...and Not Goodness

Back in College, Annie, myself, and a few others had a "Dream/Not the Dream" list. Here's a small sampling:

THE DREAM!!!

• Washington D.C. for Christmas. No crowds! (Annie)
• Having a job that allows you to travel the whole freaking world! Yay Japan! (Tristinn)
• Final Family Dinner Spring 2012 {This gets bolded because lets just face it, there is no bigger dream than this}  (Tristinn)
• Tristinn and I being hyper at the same time (Lindsay)
• DISNEYLAND!!! (Casey)
• Photographic memory + math skills (Claire)
• Scrunchies making a comeback!  (Tristinn)
• Nice drivers when you are driving in traffic. (KaraLeigh)
• TV and sweatpants all day. (Annie)

NOT THE DREAM

• Bad men stealing treasures from children’s treasure hunt before it starts. (Tristinn)
• Downstairs neighbors who believe every night is a good time for a rave. (Annie)
• Lactating husbands (Laura) Unless it means we don’t have to do it and they don’t have bigger chests than Laura (Kelsi)
• Being half-naked in the bathroom when the repairman knocks on the door (Tristinn)
• PEOPLE WHO EAT CRACKERS IN A SILENT LIBRARY. (Annie)
• Decisions  (Tristinn) AMEN!! (Katelyn)
• Writing grad school essays (Kelsi)
• Hours of traffic in nairobi with a side of attempted robbery. (KTP)
• Having to bookmark Dictionary.com so you can understand your homework  (Tristinn) 
• Anything but sweatpants. (Annie)

You get the idea. There are lots of dreams...and lots of not-dreams. 

When I started thinking of Goodness and Evil, my mind started making this same kind of list. You would think goodness and evil would be very different and very straightforward...not always the case. But in my list that I will leave you with today, I hope it's clear which things belong on which side. 

GOODNESS

• Always putting your garbage in the correct receptacle. ALWAYS.
• Mint M&Ms  - even if you hate M&Ms and mint, this is still goodness.
• The end of 2020 finally being in sight!
• Internet videos of animals (penguins and all of those inter-species-stuck-in-the-zoo pandemic videos particularly get to me)
• Friends & Family who are there for you no matter what
• Korean (or Chinese/Japanese) Dramas - Trust me on this one!

NOT GOODNESS

• War, murder, etc. (let's get the obvious ones on here, shall we)
• M&Ms choosing not to sell big bags of Mint M&Ms all year long
• Spam texts & calls
• Saving your toenail clippings for multiple months and putting them in the car air vents of someone you dislike. 
• Laughing when other people make mistakes

While this Goodness/Not Goodness list may seem a little simplistic, it's all this simplicity that makes up the bulk of the moments we live. Goodness is in the small moments and kind gestures. Goodness is in our attitudes and our approaches to live. Although perhaps a bit cliché at the end of the year, there could be some value in making your own "Goodness/Not Goodness" list as a way to review 2020. It's nice to be reminded every now and again of the Goodness all around us.