Elena Dimitrova is known for her documentaries and books on certain periods and personalities in Bulgarian history, in particular the work of the two brothers Cyril and Methodius, the Bogomil heresy, the history of Christianity in the Bulgarian lands. Recently she presented a different book of hers - "The Great Good", including life stories and thoughts on kindness. This book is the occasion for us to meet Elena Dimitrova and talk about this pertinent issue in our society in present day when bloodshed and violation of human dignity are pouring out from paper headlines and news broadcasts everywhere, causing a feeling of desperation.

What is good? Isn’t it a truly multifaceted concept? What is good for some people might turn out to be evil to others? Take for example the dictators. As the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It seems like the concept of goodness varies at different ages and in the minds of different people? Yet goodness is something universal, Elena Dimitrova believes:

"The essence is: "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them ", according to the Gospel of Luke. I.e. the criterion is universal, says Elena. - In my book, I have included a message of the heavenly protector and patron of the Bulgarian people Saint Ivan Rilski to his disciples on goodness and how to achieve it. He advises that, to a large degree, we have to get rid of the human addiction to money and possessions. Because dependence on them provokes evil thoughts in man, urging him to do evil."

When you do good to another, you actually do good to yourself, because a good man who serves for the benefit of others without asking anything in return, thereby is building his own personal happiness, Elena Dimitrova believes. Her work has taken her all over Bulgaria and to many countries worldwide. She was strongly impressed by her meeting with the Tuaregs in the Algerian Sahara desert, whose kindness of heart and love are remarkable. "That was where Antoine de Saint-Exupéry landed with his plane, and perhaps the character of the Little Prince contains elements of the mentality of local people. For them no such thing as material values exists. For them there is love for the mother love, between woman and man, friendship," Mrs. Dimitrova shares his impressions:

"But as much as I have toured the world, I love Bulgaria most. It has its own interesting and nice flavor when it comes to spirituality. The best thoughts about kindness that have touched my soul the most, I have written down during my trips across Bulgaria, and especially - in small villages and towns, overheard by the elderly people who have the wisdom of old age and the joy of being present at the birth of a young horse. It is interesting how people prevent us from evil through various beliefs and superstitions. Bulgarians love storks and worship them. I grew up in a village close to Stara Zagora where my mother and father were teachers. Since then I have remembered that by no means should one cast a stone at a stork, because “if you kill a stork, your mother will die”. That’s how people keep alive these animals which are useful, with this fear. You must seek the wisdom conveyed through the centuries by the Bulgarians, their sense of goodness."

"Every day we read in the news about murder, as if this is something most usual. But this is a great evil”, Elena Dimitrova says. “I think that today, more than ever, the Great Good must stand against the Great Evil. Different religions, different parties – all this is of no importance. We are all people on this earth.”

English Rossitsa Petcova