What does being a good person entail?

Last summer, I was talking to a friend of mine. We got into the conversation of whether we thought we were naturally good people. I told her that I think I'm inherently a good person, and that it just comes naturally. I was surprised when she told me that she has to try to be a good person. That it doesn't come naturally to her. That she has to work at it.

She is one of the nicest people I know. She's kind, funny, beyond thoughtful (trust me on this one), generous, caring, and loyal. The list goes on and on. About a week after our conversation, I forgot about it completely.

Fast forward to about two months ago, the memory of this conversation popped into my head again. I still couldn't wrap my head around the idea of her saying she didn't think she was naturally a good person.

In my tipsy-off-of-beer state, I figured it out. We all have a different idea of what being a good person entails. I have a moral code, and as long as I keep to my code, I think I’m a good person. According to my thoughts of what being a good person entails, she checks every box.

What I never considered up until that point was the fact that she might have different criteria. She might have different guidelines. It all made sense.

My friend is much more religious than I am, and just has different overall views. While I've always known that, I never thought about the fact that those differences in views can result someone believe you aren't a good person even though you think you are. Someone else can look at my moral code, and think that some of the things I do or don’t follow aren’t correct in their eyes.

While I don't think I'm perfect by any means, I do think I'm a good person. I try my best to do what's right in my eyes. It's crazy to think that some of the choices I've made in my life, could make others see me as a bad person.

It was easy for me to tell her that I think I'm a good person, because I know my intentions. I can just as easily say that all my best friends & close family members are good people. I'm not going to go into the nitty gritty of why, I just know that they are.

Other than those people I mentioned above, while I can guess who's a good person, I definitely have a much harder time putting the label of "bad person" on anyone. I've come to realize that things usually aren't so black and white. When you're younger it's so easy to be able to put things into those two boxes. In reality, things aren't so straight and narrow. A lot of the time things fall into a gray zone.

While I have my own opinions on how things should be, in the same breathe, I try not to hold judgement. I don't really know the reason why people do what they do. I love the saying, "there are multiple versions of the truth". Sometimes I know my truth, sometimes I know the truth of only one person in a situation, but very rarely to I get an actual recounting of everyone's truths.

While I may not like certain people, I don't like the idea of someone getting the blanket term of "bad person". I think being a good person and a bad person is too black in white in general. Instead, I think most people fall somewhere on the spectrum. I would even go as far to say that most people lean towards good.

At the end of the day, I know two things. One, I'm a good person, who will continue to better myself. Two, regardless of how harsh of a critic (I'm a harsh critic of myself as well) she is to herself, all I know is that she's one of the best people I know, and am so glad to have her in my life.

What are your thoughts on this? Let me know in the comments down below! Hope you guys are staying safe in this quarantine. Sending you love, strength, and positivity xx