“‘What’s serious? I was a kid. The thing is, I believed in God and all that, but it wasn’t the religious part that interested me. Just being nice to people, that’s all. Being decent’”(O’Brien 121).
I felt a strong connection to this quote as I read this chapter, in that my own personal philosophy is quite similar to that of Henry Dobbins. While I am personally uncertain whether God exists, I find that connecting and being kind to those around me to be rewarding in its own right, even without a religious incentive to do so, such as the fear of going to Hell or wish to attain Heaven. I find that being kind for the sake of being kind is much better than being kind for the sake of being judged by a higher being in an afterlife. Dobbins’ interaction with the two monks reminded me of the way people usually treat each other when I work at Trader Joes. While my fellow employees are instructed to be kind and helpful to our customers, I often find my co-workers going out of their way to help someone with whatever they need help with. This shows me that they have a similar mentality to mine in that they understand that we are all in this life together, and to help one another is the best way to go about life. To respect one another despite all our personal differences is an essential human quality to me and Dobbins’ interaction with the two monks reminded me of that fact.
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