Virtuous cycle 善的循環

Theodore Roosevelt once said about the man in the arena, "whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again because there is not effort without error and shortcoming, but who does actually strive to do the deed, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumphs of high achievements and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly."

The arena is too bloody for modern people, but perhaps it can be compared to life. Devoting oneself to a worthwhile cause in life is, for me, a "good thought." From a good thought, it becomes "good intention," and then "good deeds." When good deeds spread, with luck, a "seed of kindness" will enter another life and continue to sprout.

Everyone's life is like a book, filled with a variety of experiences, observations, and memories. If an external act of kindness is written into this book, a potential seed of good will is also written into this chapter. Regardless of whether this seed sprouts or not, at least this chapter in the book is a positive story. Every book of life contains both good and evil. The more kindness we can convey to each book, perhaps as its owner occasionally flips through it, these seeds of good will can have a positive impact.

There's a psychological term called loss aversion, which refers to the tendency for people to focus more on what they've lost than what they've gained. Therefore, the human brain is naturally wired to absorb negativity. This is a prime reason to strive to help these impoverished village children. Instilling positivity in these little minds could be one of the tiny forces that contribute to a better future.

這段引自狄奧多·羅斯福（Theodore Roosevelt）著名的「在競技場上的人」（Man in the Arena）演說 :

「他的臉上沾滿了灰塵、汗水和鮮血，他英勇奮戰，一次又一次地犯錯、一次又一次地失敗，因為沒有不犯錯或不跌跤的努力。但他確實奮力前行，他懂得偉大的熱情、崇高的奉獻，他投身於一個有價值的原因。他最好的結果是最終知道崇高成就的勝利，而他最壞的結果是，即使失敗，至少也是在奮勇向前的過程中失敗。」

競技場對現代人來說過於血腥, 或許可把它比喻為人生. 在人生中投身於一個有價值的原因,對我來說就是一個「善念」; 從善念再衍伸而成為「善意」, 然後成為「善行」. 當善行散播出去, 幸運的話會有「善種」進到另一個生命裡然後繼續萌芽.

每個人的生命都像一本人生書, 在書中有各式各樣的經歷 體驗與記憶, 如果一個外來的善行寫入了這本書裡, 一個可能萌芽的善種也就被寫進了這個篇章, 不管這個種子有沒有萌芽, 至少這個篇章在這本書裡印下的是趨向正面的故事. 每本人生書裡都有善與惡, 能把越多的善意傳達到一本本書裡, 或許在書的主人不時翻閱之際, 這些善種可以起一些正面的作用.

心理學有個名詞損失厭惡效應，指人們往往更關注自己失去甚麼, 而非得到甚麼. 所以人的大腦天生善於接收負面事物. 而這更是一個驅使我們盡力幫助貧困的部落孩子們的最好的原因, 在一顆顆小腦袋裡注入正向的力量, 這可能會是成就未來美好世界的微小能量之一!