"In spite of all the bad news that we daily hear and the multitude of atrocities we see flash across our television screens, the world is still full of good people who are prepared to give of themselves to others in greater need. Good people are known by their unselfish actions and their fearlessless of the consequences for helping another out. When we help the shoeless by giving them our sandals, we do much more than protect their feet from soreness and discomfort; we effectively encourage them to walk the path of good example.
Often in my life, especially in my dark past, I have fallen short of the mark and have done bad things. On each occasion that I've been in danger of drowning, it has been a good person who has pulled my head back up above the water line.
As a child, even when I did bad things, my mother always told me that I was a good person. In my more recent years, I have often been described by some as being 'a good man'. Whenever I consider the justification of this accolade and think upon the kind of person I am today, I now readily acknowledge my own 'goodness.'
This acceptance stems not from self adulation or the presence of any arrogance or immodesty, but instead sheer pragmatism. You see, the bottom line remains that I've had very little choice in the matter as all of my life I've been surrounded by a multitude of good people. Indeed, I've been so blessed by this constant experience that it would have been almost impossible not to have emerged from their influence, an all-round better person myself! " William Forde: December 16th, 2015.