Politicians make some pretty insane promises. Listening to the recent speeches given by the people competing for the 2012 race, I can't help but feel a little cynical.
The questions I hear people around me asking are:
The questions I hear people around me asking are:
-How do they know what's right for us?
-How could they possibly solve that problem?
-Why do they want power so badly?
I don't know the answers to these questions, and I don't want to preach politics to you because, quite frankly, I find political argument uninteresting and unproductive.
Politicians and governments exist, arguably, because, so far, humans have not proven that they can adequately handle their affairs on a person-to-person basis. As a result, we need institutions to regulate what we earn, where we live, how we get medical care, etc.
Politicians and governments exist, arguably, because, so far, humans have not proven that they can adequately handle their affairs on a person-to-person basis. As a result, we need institutions to regulate what we earn, where we live, how we get medical care, etc.
It's easy to get caught up in thinking that mass-intervention on the part of politics is the only way to solve humanity's problems. It's not. Think about this: if every person on this earth stepped outside everyday with an attitude of compassion and selflessness, everyone would be taken care of. There wouldn't be wars waged between people who believe in different gods. There wouldn't be food shortages because Americans wouldn't waste 40% of their food. People wouldn't hoard money because, without greed, money loses much of the obsessive value this culture places on it.
Obviously, we can't phone up 7,000,000,000 people and say, "Hey, yeah... The whole greed and violence thing-- it's not working out. Just be nice to each other, okay?" Instead, we have to do what we can with what we have. If you set aside a small amount of funds or hours each month, you'd probably be able to completely change a few peoples' lives. In acting with compassion, you set off a chain reaction. It might stop at 3 people, it might stop at 3 million. You never know.
Here are some ways you can exercise compassion right now and change the world, 'one man at a time':
-Smile at as many people as you possibly can
-Talk to as many people as you possibly can
-Volunteer for Meals on Wheels, or work at a homeless shelter
-Find someone in your community who is suffering and call them to offer help
The list goes on... Enjoy compassion for the sake of compassion, and expect nothing in return.
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The list goes on... Enjoy compassion for the sake of compassion, and expect nothing in return.
if you liked this post, give it a thumbs up on stumbleupon, retweet, or send it to your friends. thanks for reading.
The world will always be OK but people will not.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Big changes can often come from small acts of kindness. Certainly more than sitting around talking and romanticizing about how our government should, or other people should do X. We have to take action and be what we value. There's opportunities everyday to help, or be kind to someone else.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting. I enjoyed reading it!