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| From What the eyes cannot see |
Pay it forward is a very simple concept about how small good deeds when passed forward can exponentially circumnavigate the globe. Once it does, it will be like nuclear fission – it will continuously multiply on its own. This school of thought has always been found in the heart of every major religion in the world because being selfish is such an easy thing to do. Being selfless on the other hand is something that is being taught to us, something we had to learn as it does not come naturally to a child.
And selflessness is associated with an act of self sacrifice for someone else’s benefit. This premise therefore poses a threat to how we perceive ourselves as being selfless.
Let us first remember that selflessness is different from being helpful, cooperative or generous. Selflessness should be defined as true altruism, the most genuine definition of sacrifice, and sacrifice being the ultimate manifestation of love for others.
When I first pondered on the line, “You are being helpful because you would feel good inside, and that in itself is a selfish act.” It really struck down on me like an axe cutting through a block of wood. How can something that fuels our motivation to help others can be so selfish at the same time? Yes I am guilty of this, you can call me selfish but never call me a fibber! I am helping others because it makes me happy when other people are happy. When smiles are so wide it almost engulfs their faces, when eyes gleam and glitter so full of hope, when sincere words of thank you is uttered so many times… these are just some of the things that make the extra work you rendered all worthwhile.
Have I done good deeds that made me feel good inside? Definitely! Was I selfish in a way because I felt warm and fuzzy afterwards – well, if you put it in that context, yes.
How about good deeds that I have done that were purely altruistic in nature? I think I have a few.
But to me, no matter what feelings you would posses after extending a helping hand would give you, for as long as the intention is purely to help, it would already count as a good deed. Sometimes it’s no longer about the why, it’s more on the what – what did we do when we see someone in need? Did we turn a blind eye, a deaf ear or a cold shoulder? My advocacy for the past years has always been to do a good deed to a complete stranger at least every 3 months. It can be as little as offering to bring the groceries of a cripple, helping the elderly find her way inside a mall, to offering a blood donation to a stranger who has myoma.
With this, I encourage you my fellow blogger/reader, to go out and purposely do a good deed from time to time. No matter how miniscule and unfulfilling it may be, it still touched someone else’s heart, because to that recipient of your good deed, the world would have been different without your intervention. You do not have to go out of your way to find it, it is everywhere around you and all you need to do is to be on the look out and keep an open heart. And if you find yourself at the receiving end of this gesture, you should be morally bound to pay it forward.
