"How I invest and spend may touch the lives of people in distant places, whose names I'll never know, whose hopes I never think about" Attributed to Mr Shaunaka Rishi Das of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.
There has been some debate in scientific circles about what motivates humans to co-operate. Suggestions from the selfish gene – looking after number one - through to protecting one's own to motivation to safeguard the tribe/community etc etc. Which one is it and what drives the person to help those less fortunate themselves?
If like me, you observe the world around us - It becomes obvious that the better off a person becomes, the more likely they become more charitable. Brush aside the cynicism with which we give good deeds by personalities aside, well off people tend to be charitable people. Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, not quite in the class of personalities like Brad Pitt et al, give a lot of money and time to charity.
Every time I look at my bank statement and see my charitable deductions, I get a warm feeling, it makes me feel good, quite unlike the feeling with the other bill deductions! I personally find that as I have become more comfortable in life, I have just started supporting some charities, not just the 'Children In Need' or some ...athon or another or this or that appeal time. Why? These people will never know who I am and I will not know who is saved by my money personally ever?
It must be that selfish gene 8-). I wish I had not waited to do this -because even in times of strife and struggle, it might have felt doubly good to be charitable. And if just feeling good is a motivation, then the must be other areas of our lives where there is no conceivable motivation apart from feeling good. Isn't it good to know that not everything in our lives need resolves around food, shelter and sex!
They say that funerals are not for the dead but to comfort the living. There are things we do just to feel better, and we should keep an eye out for those things that will make us content, sometimes it is not that obvious.
May you find the balance.
[First published on my Talking2Myself blog on specified date]