27 - Goodness Me

B-RAD with Brad Toews

The phrase "good enough", which is so ubiquitious in our culture, implies that there is something better than good. Perfection, something without flaws, something pristine and ideal, is better than good. Isn't it?

In the beginning creation was declared good. Tov is the original Hebrew word which we translate as "good" in English.

But Tov is so much more than just good. It's a word that celebrates life in all its diversity - birth, death, re-birth, seasons, warmth, cold, the messiness and sexiness of it all.

In contrast, the Greeks gave us the word Telios. This is the ideal form, the pursuit of human achievement, attaining something that can’t be improved upon. It's the Olympics and perfect human form, it's excellence and precision.

Why would we want good when we can have perfect?

The problem with perfect is that it's unattainable. Once you reach that ideal, the place you thought you'd feel complete upon arriving, you realize you don't find fulfillment here. And so you're always looking for the next level, the next pedestal.

You can keep improving till you die but never find rest and satisfaction, not knowing that you could have experienced a deep, abiding, and grounding sense of "good" all along.

I am grabbing hold of good as a powerful and potent word; messy, rich, and expansive. I am claiming it for myself and sharing it with you. You're not less than, you're not better than, you are good. Goodness is you. Goodness is me.

Join me in this episode as we go back to the beginning of time and space, learn a little bit from two ancient languages, and are invited to reclaim our original state of being as declared by Being itself.

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