Are We Living Malignantly Or Benignly?

"Always try to be joyful and proactively benign to the people."
- Toba Beta

Words are powerful. They can change our lives. One word that can strike fear in the strongest among us is 'malignant'. Malignant in the context of our personal health is one word that we never want to hear. But what about in the context of how we live our lives?

If we are living malignantly we are disposed to causing harm or suffering. Our actions are threatening to life, as in rampant species extinctions. We may not be doing this knowingly, and our economic system definitely encourages such behaviour, but the results are the same. Such lifestyles threaten our well being, as well as the well being of our brothers and sisters around the world.

Regular lifestyles and ways of doing business are characterized by uncontrolled growth that have dangerous, harmful effects. What I am striving for is to reduce my negative effects by living benignly.

Benign is a powerfully positive word, as well as a powerfully beneficial way to live. Rather than be compared to an unchecked, sinister cancerous growth, I would rather be thought of as a mild type of character that does not threaten the health or life of others and the planet.

I wish to cultivate a lifestyle that could be described as good, kindly, benevolent, tender, humane, gentle, and compassionate. 

Words are powerful, and these are the ones I wish others to think of when they see how I conduct my affairs.