Where are the good ones:/ the beautiful, strong, and/ virtuous figures of yore?

Virginia Konchan, Ubi Sunt

I need the good ones. I need the good ones who live lives that make me want to jump a little higher, try a little harder, be a little better, love a little more fiercely. I need reminders of possibility, excellence, kindness, generosity, compassion. It s not about a swift kick in the butt, it is about being held by something greater in the midst of fear and overwhelm.

I need the good ones today. Right now. In the midst of it all.

The good ones is important. They are a touchstone for what has been, is, and can be. Like a lighthouse in rough waters, they can light the way. They provide historical evidence that things have been bad before and the good ones have always helped guide our world — inch by inch, in some cases — through the morass. Learning from the good ones teaches us that big and small acts of love create miracles. Learning from the good ones — and seeing the many faces of goodness — shows us that all of us can been good ones. (That is an important distinction in a world where goodness can be considered the purview of a particular group.)

The good ones set a lovingly high bar. They radiate light. They invite us along a sacred journey. They build with mind, heart, and hands. They move in the surest sense of perfect time and right direction. We know many good ones, both the famous, everyday, and every good one in between. Let’s be diligent in our search to find the good ones — seeking goodness like our next breath — and allow their goodness to shake us wide awake.