Good Deeds Week

Articles on the Consideration of Good Deeds

Index

Page 2......Introduction

Page 3......Why?

Page 4......Easy versus Hard

Page 5......Anonymity

Page 6......Paragons (Arasan)

Page 7......When to Not

Page 8......Self and Deeds

Page 9......Continuing

Introduction

Greetings, reader.

Contained in this volume are a compilation of thoughts and consideration

on the worth and manner of good deeds for those of goodness. These articles

were gathered during a time known informally as "Good Deeds" week, or,

more formally as: "a Week of Good Deeds and Right Action", an event

sponsored by "Love in Action" a campaign to spread awareness of the power

of Taliena's love through Algoron.

The event ran from the 15th of the 5th month of the year 2011 through to

the 22nd day of the same month, all dates being of the Old Calendar. The

purpose was not to isolate good deeds to one week, but, rather, to

celebrate them and increase the general awareness of their impact.

As a result, it felt appropriate to write a series of daily articles which

covered topics related to good deeds. For, despite our purest intentions,

we may find that some deeds create ill, either for ourselves or for those

that we're helping. In some circumstances our good deeds help, but do not

solve a much larger problem which we are capable of fixing.

At the beginning of the week, the then Bishop, Caenarfon, chimed in his

support, offering some brief, wise words which I believe will constitute

a beautiful beginning to this book:

"As we all do our good actions this week to honor Taliena, we are reminded

that we do this because this is how we wish people in Algoron to treat each

other, and to make it a place where all can enjoy peace and freedom. "

Keep those words in mind as you read. Our good deeds are not commandments

to be obeyed because we are sheep, they are a force of our Love expressed,

intended to change and shape Algoron for the better.

Taliena bless,

Arreana Lightwing

Why do we help others?

Evil helps one another to a singular purpose: to advance the will of their

gods. Everything they do traces back to this strict requirement of their

religion. Necrucifer, master of their path, seeks dominance of Algoron, to

be Master of all.

It is true that we of goodness also help at the behest of our deities, but

to a different purpose. Where the followers of evil serve in absolute

obedience, we serve by the choice of our actions. We do not give aid

because we're told to, we aid because it is a natural extension of what we

believe.

Taliena tells us to love, Siccara tells us to heal. Nadrik tells us to

remain honorable, even if we do not always agree. Kantilles preaches wisdom

and the prudent use of powerful magic, and, finally, Austinian, above all

else, tells us to remain unified, to internalize all the values of goodness

no matter who we follow.

It is from these virtues that we should be driven to do good deeds, to help

and to aid and to live our lives in accordance with the rightness of action

that defines our path. So we do these things not because we're told to, but

because we should want to.

These things should be a part of what defines goodness beyond just this

week. However, we take this week to celebrate these things and promote them

in the hopes that all of us will realize just how important good deeds and

right action are to our identity.

In a world torn apart by strife, where we fight daily against those of evil

it's easy for us to get lost in all of that fighting and see it as our only

purpose, but our purpose is much deeper than that. When all the fighting is

done and over with we will have a world to heal, and weak to lift up. Our

good deeds and right action will be needed to return this world to the

peaceful, loving place that it should be.

Easy versus Hard

Is it better to give a man food, or teach him how to farm?

The answer to that question might seem obvious, but let's alter it a little

bit:

Is it better to give a man food for a lifetime, or to teach him how to

farm?

The answer to this question is a bit more difficult. Guaranteeing a man

food for a lifetime is a worthy option to some. You can teach a man to farm

but that doesn't promise him healthy crops and food for the rest of his

life. He could manage, but there's no guarantee.

Despite that, my answer remains: teach him how to farm.

Why?

The answer to that is simple as well: there's more value in teaching him to

farm. Beyond the simple logistical problem of providing for all of those

who are needy for the rest of their lives, even if we could, there is no

true value added to their lives, to Algoron.

Despite the lies that evil tries to feed us, we do not merely support "the

weak" and allow them to continue to take away from the world. Our purpose

is to defend them, even as evil stomps over them and removes them, but

also to help strengthen and encourage them. That fact is one of the many

fundamental differences between goodness and evil.

Where evil seeks to use the weak to their advantage, and then toss them

away like trash on the streets, goodness sees the value of every person

and every being, and seeks to make Algoron stronger by strengthening each

member.

When we teach a man how to be self-sufficient, not only do we help him to

help himself, we enable him to also help others. A man that is taught to

farm can not only donate food to help others, once his feet are

established, he can, in turn, help others and teach other desperate people

the skills that they'll need for self-sufficiency.

So, as you go about your good deeds and right action, especially in this

week where we celebrate them, keep in mind how much more you can help

someone by taking the time to teach them. Offering a sword or a shield

might be helpful, but getting to know a stranger, and what they truly need

can do so much more.

With Love,

Arreana Lightwing

Anonymity

Why is it important for our deeds to remain anonymous?

If I offered 10 eggs to someone to help me carry some barrels of apples

across Arkane, I'm sure I could find someone very quickly. The motivation

for the help, however, was not to make Algoron a better place, it was not

to lift me up in something with which I might have been weak, it was driven

purely from the intention of earning eggs.

Similarly, if I offer fame and recognition for good deeds, then many might

be motivated to do them simply to know that their name is being spread

around as a result, and in the knowledge that they can use that fame to

their advantage later.

Unlike evil, our good deeds should not be motivated by personal gain. It

should not come from strict obedience. Instead, we should be driven to do

good deeds and right action because it is what we want to do.

By making anonymity a fundamental aspect of doing good deeds, we remove

the drive for glory and recognition from the motivations to help, helping

to ensure that aid is pure and from a true desire to make the world better.

This is not to say that it is wrong to say thank you, or to recognize those

that have helped you, even in a public manner.

However, when possible, it is best to stick to removing that layer of

motivation entirely. One of the reasons for this week of celebration is

to show how you can honor and celebrate the good deeds of others even

without directly recognizing them in a public manner. By sharing their

deeds, instead of the person doing the deed, we can celebrate the purity

of the action itself. Additionally, by paying good deeds forward, we keep

them rolling on, impacting others and spreading through Algoron like

wildfire.

So celebrate good deeds this week. Remember them, treasure them, pay them

forward. Don't feel bad about not emphasizing the individuals behind the

deeds, for their reward is in doing the deed itself. Besides, your good

deeds may come back around to help you in the future too!

Paragons

An excellent endeavor and I wished to place my thoughts in it. When I

think about those who have set the precedents before me. Torey, Gwynn,

Thrakhath, and among others. Men and women who are considered holy and

symbols of the Light to all those who think upon them.

I wondered if they had it easy. That the light and the words that come from

them were without pause, without question and without fear. I consider them

to be Holy people. But what defines a Holy Person? I think it is less

about their actions though that takes a part in it. It is the person who is

willing to step forward to help others regardless of the cost to themselves.

It is someone who inspires others to do the same and walk the path before

them with resolve.

We are mortal, and we are not perfect. Nor were those that we consider

Holy. But it is the measure of the individual to stand up despite

everything. Despite the jeering words, despite their own failings, despite

everything, it is the measure of the individual to brush off the dirt and

stand tall amongst Algoron.

So I say, the term Holy should not be placed to individuals of high

standing. It is not a symbol to achieve. But it is something to be.

Anyone of us can be holy. It is not those who have powerful words, it is

not those who have done amazing things. It is the regular person, it is the

person who is willing to work for the Light.

When one helps another without reward, they are Holy. When one listens to

the troubles of another and offers advice, they are Holy. When one follows

the tenants of the Light and shows themselves as an example to everyone,

they are Holy.

In my eyes, the moment you all rose to when the Holy Father needed us the

most, you were all Holy in my eyes. Never let anyone tell you different.

Be proud and be strong.

When to Not

When do we decide not to help?

Choosing not to offer aid is a difficult prospect, since, when we become

selective about helping, we risk simply becoming unhelpful in general,

while still persisting under the delusion that we are, in fact, helpful

people. Still, there are times when we should abstain from offering or

agreeing to help, and today I wanted to discuss those.

Evil

Where those of Evil paths are concerned, we must be wary. For instance,

if a follower of Evil asks you to help them retrieve a weapon, or even

another item which prepares them for fighting (such as armor) then we may

indirectly be aiding them in the murder of innocents. When we offer aid to

another we must always consider the possible consequences of our aid, and

what it might enable someone to do. With Evil this holds especially true,

as many of their aims and goals run directly counter to our own.

We must remember that the purpose of good deeds and right action is not,

in fact, to be helpful. Rather, being helpful is a by-product of the

greater purpose which is served: improving Algoron. While improving the

life of an individual helps to serve this purpose, we must ensure that

in improving their own circumstances we are not directly interfering with

another's livelihood. This is important, because it's a distinction between

Goodness and Evil. Those of Evil seek their own goals and objective, even

when at the behest of their gods, and have little regard for how others

might be treated in the process.

While we cannot always stop hurt or pain, and sometimes one set of actions

may unintentionally cause trouble for others, we must always consider and

do our best to ensure that our aid is doing the best that it can to help

improve without hurting others.

Self-Sufficiency

Sometimes we are reluctant to help someone for fear that we are promoting

laziness or other negative attributes. One of the arguments of Evil is that

Goodness lets the weak linger, infesting Algoron and holding the world

back. This is not true, but, if we take our virtue of not simply tossing

the weak aside in its most literal form, we can see how one might make

that assumption.

If we feel that someone's request is something they should be able to do

on their own, then it might be best to not simply "do it for them" and

instead ensure that they complete the task themselves. However, instead

of simply telling them to do it, or calling them lazy or any number of

negative things, we can still be helpful even in having them take the

responsibility for themselves.

Those that come to us for help for something they should be capable of

dealing with show a marked need for help, even if not directly in what they

are asking for. They may lack confidence or motivation. Instead of simply

turning them away, we can encourage them towards doing the task at hand,

showing them how they are capable and guiding them through the steps

required. In this manner we not only ensure that they do not resort to

relying on others as a crutch, we also keep appraised of their progress so

that, in the case that our assumptions are wrong, and they are truly not

capable, we can choose to simply aid them in their initial request.

Conclusion

We should be generous with our aid, but this does not exclude wisdom and

prudence from our judgment. While selectivity can be dangerous, it is a

necessary part of offering aid as a follower of Goodness.

Self and Deeds

When doing good deeds we must be selfless, but we must not forget

ourselves. It's easy for us to do good work at our own expense, such that

we suffer for it. While personal suffering shouldn't necessarily be a

deterrent for an action, it SHOULD cause us to consider more carefully

whether or not the action is valuable.

For instance, one of the most championed actions is the "ultimate"

sacrifice, dying for someone or a group of people. When heroes die for

others, we celebrate their deeds in legend, song, poem and story. However,

this does not mean that dying for someone else is always the best course

of action.

Similarly, we should not help others and suffer ourselves simply because

it will make them happy or more comfortable. When such things are required

for good, we must consider whether or not the result is something which

is truly improving Algoron.

Some will want to take advantage of us and our kindness, they may even try

to use it specifically to hurt us. These things we must be wary of, for

our good deeds should not be allowed to be a tool for subtler forms of

evil. How do we consider these things?

Love.

Our good deeds are an act of Love, but it should never be one-sided. Even

if we should not expect thank-yous or repayments, we should know that the

Love we give is returned also. If the requests made or the individual in

questions shows a clear lack of regard it does not mean we should not still

do good deeds for them, but we should then be suspicious of the deeds that

need to be done for them, and ensure that when suffering and sacrifice

are required, that we understand the full value of what we are offering.

Continuing

Good deeds, for those of goodness, come from the heart. Sometimes we get

so caught up in our lives and our regular deeds that we neglect the small

things we are called to do. In all things we should show love, but

sometimes this fact is ignored.

Love.

Love inspires us to do good deeds, and it is through love that I have

come to remind you of our purpose here. While we must fight the battles

that are brought to us, lest we be trod upon, let us not be defined by

our fighting, but, rather, by the good deeds and right action of our

hearts.

This week was set aside to celebrate good deeds, but it needn't end here.

As we go forward, continue to do good to one another, without expectation

of payment in return. Instead, pay forward the good deeds done unto you.

In all these things, however, remember the principles of good deed doing.

Remember to discriminate worthy deeds from ones which are purely intended

to hurt you. Remember also that the easy deed is not always the right

one. Instead of giving a man something to eat, consider teaching him how

to feed himself.

Praise Taliena