BLOG POST 18: We rise by lifting others
Dear Readers,
A very Good Morning to you all.
What is the 'joy of giving' like? Do we actually feel good from within or depleted of all that we have. If we take a good look around, it's not uncommon to hear - the poor are happier. But why is it so?
Aren't we a lot more blessed and insured than they are, with food to eat, a home to live in and clothes to wear? Aren't we supposed to be much much happier than they are?
Then where has it all gone wrong? One of the biggest difference between the poor and the middle-class/rich community is that the poor don't have a lot to lose. The rich carry worries about what they might lose which deprives them of the experiences of the present. We can be happy even if we are rich if we train our minds that way. Be okay to lose everything.
"Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one." - Dr Seuss
Become able enough, that you can say this without a moment of hesitation.
I had a silver bracelet when I was eight years old. It looked dazzling but was oversized for my tiny hands. I wouldn't give it to anyone. Yet, I took it to school with me and showed it off to everyone possible. Many friends asked me for the bracelet willing to trade, their this or that. I just wouldn't give it.
That same evening, I came back home and searched my bag for the bracelet. I couldn't find it. It is natural for those who have precious stuff to have an inbuilt tendency of not sharing their precious possession with anyone else. Take the seven billion people around us. How many do you think, would be exceptional enough to cross this line of greed and selfishness, and think about giving away what they have to someone else who loves it more?
That is exactly where the joy of giving comes from. Great people you might know are remembered for what they gave away and not the fabulous things they owned when they lived. More than the millions you have at the bank, the million smiles you've spawned in this world matters most.
And for all this to happen, you don't really have to be a great established businessman or businesswoman. Giving can be done anywhere in any form. Every time you extend a penny or a pack of food to someone in need, you are going out of your usual way, to fulfil another person's day. At that moment, your heart is content to its maximum and you really needn't worry about tomorrow. Let the person decide what he/she uses your grant for. But it is your prime duty to just give.
Worries affect us most when we think that we carry the biggest burdens of life. When we are able to help someone who is in more need than us, we understand that our burdens are so much lesser compared to theirs. A cloud of satisfaction starts to engulf us. We start to feel protected in the hands of the Universe.
Imagine yourself, watching a cartoon or movie or even reading a story. Which characters do you categorise as wicked, evil, selfish, greedy? Which characters do you portray as the hero, the best, most admirable? Unless you are someone outside the common humanity pack, you would choose the one who's willing to sacrifice anything and everything they have as the hero.
"Happiness is a by-product of usefulness. And you can be useful in big and small ways every day."
