| Why do we help others? There is a whole lot of pain | | | | disempowered. |
| and poverty, illness and despair in the world. I can't | | | | Make your happiness and peace of mind your number |
| speak for you but I would like to make a difference | | | | one priority. Once you have that you have the |
| and improve the quality of life for others. Volunteer | | | | power to really affect change. Helping others is a |
| work is a great way to begin. | | | | wonderful thing. Look at the global efforts to help |
| No single person can change the entire world but you | | | | the Tsunami victims and affected areas. You could |
| can have an impact on the lives of others in your | | | | rationalize it and say that helping is the right thing to |
| own corner of the universe. That, in a small way, | | | | do, that contributing to any good cause is the right |
| changes the world ever so slightly. Multiply that by a | | | | thing to do. I agree. |
| billion and it is a brave new world. How many times | | | | But, we are not motivated by our intellect or |
| have you heard people say " You can't change the | | | | rationalizations. It is emotion that moves us to act. |
| world. You are just one person?" It begins with one. | | | | Helping out makes us feel good and inversely we |
| Forget all that nonsense the defeatists choose to fill | | | | know that watching others suffer and not helping |
| their heads with. That's their business. The contents | | | | when we know we can will make us feel miserable. |
| of your head is all that matters. | | | | We don' t want to make ourselves unhappy. |
| Your happiness counts. How can you share your | | | | If you can truly be honest with yourself you will see |
| happiness if you have none to share? You can't be | | | | that beneath all the sentiment is a need to tend to |
| happy if you put others happiness ahead of your | | | | our own happiness. I like to volunteer because it |
| own. You have to put yourself first in order to have | | | | makes me feel good. That is the bottom line. The |
| the tools to affect change. | | | | rest is just window-dressing. I have a selfish desire to |
| I don't know how many people I have met that | | | | feel good and so do you. There is nothing wrong |
| speak of all the hungry people of the world living in | | | | with that. |
| poverty. And how they dream of helping them. | | | | Yoga, meditation and prayer make me feel good, |
| These are people that are wallowing in consumer | | | | too. Can you call those selfish pursuits? How about |
| debt, the working poor, just inches away from | | | | attending church or worshipping your higher power? |
| bankruptcy. They want to help others when they | | | | Do those things make you feel good? Of course |
| cannot even dream of themselves living in prosperity. | | | | they do or you would not do them. If pursuing your |
| Such noble nonsense. | | | | own emotional well-being and feeling good is not |
| If you want to help your family, help your community | | | | what you would consider selfish, than I think that the |
| or change the world, you have to help yourself first. | | | | term "selfish" is highly misunderstood. |
| You have to be selfish for pete's sake! It's not a sin | | | | Tend to your "self" first. Be selfish. Then and only |
| or a crime to put yourself first. You have to lead by | | | | then can you really make a difference. |
| example. Nobody chooses to follow the | | | | |