Disclaimer
I am not the architect of good, that is God (find him here). This post is a summary of how I was taught to see good. I no longer solely believe in this lesson and I will share why at a later date under the theme Grace.
My grandma always says whatever you do in this world you do for yourself, whether you act in the interest of people or in your own interest. Whatever you do, how you treat people, how you react to people, whether good or bad is for you.
As a young child, this was an easy concept to grasps because she made sure to repeat this lesson to us in fables, in stories, and sometimes she showed us where the lesson was reflected in the Bible. There's a kind of redemptive freedom when you live life this way. Under grandma's tutelage doing good became a personal project.
When I wake up in the morning and I see a stranger in need of help my decision to assist them is for me, it's an act for myself not for them. It sounds selfish when I put it that way, but let me use another word to describe my grandma's sage wisdom.
Karma. I put good into the world and good will find me in the world.
With such a broad yet simple understanding of the effects of doing good grandma also taught me how to ground the lesson in reality, because after all how does one measure goodness.
To grandma, it is quite simple, kindness, charity, and love, and the greatest of these is love, of course.
If you exhibit kindness and if you are charitable, but most importantly if you do those things from the heart. According to grandma, if you do those things from within, for yourself irrespective of what or how people see you or perceive your actions, you are a good person.
Of course, beware when you engage with people that no human is fully good and no human is fully bad, but we can all still do good.