Sometimes I find it hard to believe in this day and age that anyone might be concerned with living for the sake of others. We rush frantically back and forth, trying to achieve our own agendas, oblivious to the needs of others. We as a society have developed a mentality of, "Out of my way! I've got somewhere I got to be!" We are flooded with messages from advertisements encouraging us to focus mor
e on ourselves; although, less in the ways we need and more in the ways that tend to empty our pockets. Our consumer culture works overtime to convince us that it is the attainment of the next technology, the pursuit of physical perfection, the next big purchase, which will bring us satisfaction. Often the only message broadcast by our mass media involving our relation to others is something along the lines of finding the right products to buy that will indeed hitch us the perfect match. Yet, in my own experience, I have found the contradictory to be factual. It's not what I can do for myself, nor what someone else can do for me that brings me a sense of contentment. Rather, it is when I focus on what I can do for others that I feel an inner peace in the grand scheme of things. To be honest, this is a daily challenge for most of us. There are many ways we can get lost in oblivion; thinking about our own needs and neglect those around us. Our “I” based culture rounded with the “Why” based mechanism would have us believe that we need to take care of our own selves first and whatever is left over can be shared with others. But I find that on the days when I make others my first priority all "My stuff" falls into place so smoothly I hardly have to give it a thought. The idea of giving away what we have in order to keep it seems so contradictory to the logical approach to life that we hold so dear. The world seems to tell us if we want more in our lives we need to hoard what we already have. If we give something away, won't we have less instead of more? It is a spirit of giving that brings us more of what we're searching for. It is this idea, however, that we need to embrace whole-heartedly. Rent some comedies and spend the day laughing with a sick friend. Feeling discouraged about your current financial situation? Volunteer one night at your local homeless shelter. However, it doesn't take a drastic change in one's daily schedule to accommodate others. We can make a difference in each other’s lives with only a slight shift in perspective as we go about our daily routines. Often one of the most important things we can do for each other is to truly listen. Throughout each day, we all have the opportunity to hear someone express a need. The variety of ways we can take care of each other are innumerable once the perception is focused on what we can do for others instead of what's being done for us. Much of human existence is a knitting paradox. There's a lot about human behavior that doesn't make sense. Nevertheless, sometimes we need to pay less attention to what is reasonable, and more to what is factual yet not materialistic. We know in our hearts we've done something good when we help another person. We didn't have to go to school to have someone teach us that. It is a simple truth that human beings depend on each other for survival. That's why living for the sake of others is such an important, though simple, act. Most of us live ordinary lives. We go to work, pay our taxes and do our grocery shopping in the same store every week. Each opportunity to extend a kindness to those around us is a chance to be a part of something larger than ourselves. It is a chance to be extraordinary, to go beyond the habit of ignoring each other that is our society's current standard. It's an opportunity that enriches our lives and keeps us connected to a fundamental aspect of our human nature, our need for each other.
- SAHS'99
