We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give. -Winston Churhill (1874-1965), British Prime Minister.
Teleological. Goal seeking organism. According to Aristotle, that’s what we all are. Some call it go-getters, others refer to it as survival of the fittest. Kill or be killed. Only the strong survive. All that don’t fight are fit for extinction!
Really? Is this the human condition? Wouldn’t an unbridled attack attitude lead to chaos? Look at how much ill will there is toward the wealthy. Certainly we celebrate the inventors like Steve Jobs who brought us pleasing and life changing products, but what about all those bankers who raked in massive fees while their industry tanked…where was the value added cried the abused!
So it appears that the masses tend to lean towards fair play…no problem that there’s a game to play and win, but when you cheat you get reeled in quickly and chastised. So what’s at play here? To some extent we all like to “get” and advance our own cause, but is there a right or better way to do it? And if there is, who says what’s better? Who makes the rules anyhow?
Some would argue that there’s a moral authority that we should look to, but what if you don’t believe that God or any higher power exists? What about a referee? Do we need one? Can we even find an unbiased one that’s incorruptible?
Rather than get exasperated about trying to police unbridled “getting”, why not look to giving? Consider the historical perspective…who do we remember the most? The extreme “getters” such as Napoleon, Hitler, Hussein amongst other enterprising conquerors and the extreme “givers” such as Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King.
I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul. -Maya Angelou (1928-), American female author and poet, best known for her auto-biography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Random Act Of Kindness
Nothing strikes more fear in our hearts than a random act of violence. It’s the first thing on the news. It sells because it compels us by pushing our vulnerable, fearful buttons. But what about a random act of kindness. I would argue that it’s many more times powerful and compelling.
