Part of me wants to enjoy life by getting a job that helps people on a smaller scale and then pursue my hobbies on down time... The other part of me occasionally takes off her rose-colored glasses and sees the injustices still endured by people in other countries. I become absolutely shocked and enraged that this still goes on and I feel the need to help these people and devote my life to that cause. I know the latter is more courageous, humanitarian, and definitely more selfless, but the problem for me is that things are probably never going to be good on this planet. Call me pessimistic, I just think there will always be greed and problems, I don't foresee a utopian world where everything is well and everybody is treated properly. Am I wrong? What is the point of trying to fix things? It seems pointless. I feel it would be a waste of a life that could have been enjoyed doing fun and lovely things I enjoy instead of fighting a futile battle. I know that sounds extremely horrible and selfish, but as much as I think about helping I also think what is the point? Yes, people ARE suffering, but they are ALWAYS going to suffer, so I might as well enjoy MY life and not waste it. The last little bit I am ashamed to admit is that I know pretty well nothing about how I got to have the life I have. I'm extremely ignorant about how much people most likely fought for me to have the privileged beautiful life that I have. Thank you for reading, and I appreciate your responses...
They're not mutually exclusive. Ideally, your goals and pursuits should also help humanity in some way. In a healthy society, every occupation would contribute to the greater good. It's only because we live in a society with individualist/capitalist values that this is not the case. In this system, many jobs are useless and contribute nothing of actual value to humanity. They might create monetary value, but not real tangible value. There is a difference. Oftentimes, monetary value causes more harm than good. Fortunately, we are in the midst of a cultural paradigm shift, and people's values are starting to change. So there is still hope for a better world.
Yes though I am talking, or at least trying to, about helping people in other countries that are much worse off. I always feel like I could be doing more and that's what bugs me. Yeah you can help the homeless here, or supply rehabilitation here, but maybe there are people working 16 hour work days somewhere else surviving off of very little and they could really use some help. People that are a lot worse off than the worst in North America. Makes me kind of want to help and somehow fight for that cause. But even if you were to fight and possibly even fix one problem over there, maybe another problem pops up. A big repeating circle of problems. And then to use your life and efforts fighting these problems is simply useless...
What if you decide to go help others in another country, and end up dying in a plane crash before you get there? What if you say, "Fuck helping people, I'll paint murals!" Then one of your paintings inspires a revolution. Anybody who tries to tell you that your actions are selfish, or wrong, are only giving you their own opinion. When you're trying to decide how you want to live your life, the decision is ultimately yours. And it sounds like you have more excuses to not help people outside of NA than you have reasons for anything else! If you want to look into that deeper, maybe find something more specific. It doesn't feel like you have done much research into what helping those in other countries would entail - what exactly would you do? Build homes & other buildings? Offer medical attention? Educate?
I've had similar thoughts before. As an individual, even if I tried my best, I wouldn't realistically be very likely to make much of an impact in the big scheme of things. So long as greed and selfishness exist, so too will these problems. Unless we all allow ourselves to be genetically engineered into peaceful slaves of sorts, I don't see these problems disappearing any time soon. I don't think it's sufficient reason to sit back and do nothing though. However small ones contribution may be, every little bit counts. And the small work of individuals collectively forms a greater whole. It's a team effort to really, on a very big scale.
Thank you, yes you are right I have done hardly any research into what exactly helping entails or how it can be done. I love your example of the mural painting, that is very true. Yes IDTENT, you are very right as well. I need to remind myself that small changes can lead to big changes. Maybe starting off in my home country and joining with others would be a good start.
No individual person can fix the world. It is a systems-level crisis. Only when human values shift can society improve. I'm talking about global society, not just any particular country. The notion of "countries" is becoming decreasingly relevant. We are one species living on one planet together.
Ah, maybe I get what you're saying. Selfishness only comes from self-preservation or something along those lines? It is in our best interest to put ourselves first in order to survive?
Many people associate the term/label "selfishness" with a negative connotation, but in reality selfishness is not necessarily bad. The layman's definition of selfish is "acting for oneself, regardless of others." Think about that for a second, and you might start to be able to think of situations where selfishness is not a bad thing. Being selfish allows people to harbor resources for themselves and theirs for example, some people believe it's a survival mechanism. Another example of a time when being selfish is great would be... You're ridin with some dudes and they're like "Yo we wanna rob that store, we want you to do it, if you don't you're a b**ch and we don't fuck with you" and you say hell no, I don't want to be involved in that shit, you kick them out of your car, and go home. That's being selfish, but I'd say it's a good thing. Going even deeper into it is saying that selfishness is "acting in the self" to which some people argue that there is no such thing as a selfish act, a topic which I've argued against and am still not entirely convinced of. People argue that every action is either done from the perspective of being in the self, therefore not selfless (which makes sense to me) or they say that every act, no matter how heroic, is done for an ulterior selfish motive, which I am not completely convinced of.
with infinite possibility it's hard to pin point the exactness needed to reach conclusion. we will keep reaching though not sure of the outcome. the better you can be for yourself it will have a vibratory effect throughout all of creation. each individual is responsible for our own betterment and even if you think you helped someone they still chose to respond to your help or not, their choice. pulling someone out of a river to save them from drowning, now that is direct and needed help no doubt...
I feel ya on all of that, consider this though. Could you be contributing to the good of everyone by being the best that you can be, or by just being consciously aware at all. Ide like to believe that were all connected and that lifting any of us up (ourselves included) is the same as lifting everyone up.
There would be no good if bad did not exist, so doesn't that kinda make good and bad the same thing? because you can not have one without the other.... Life is about experience, there is no good and bad and you will not go to hell for being "bad" ... You are a spirit having an experience through a human body. Your spirit lives forever, you have had more past lives than you can count, everything is connected. Don't waste your time, enjoy your experience!
Yes, people ARE suffering, but they are ALWAYS going to suffer, so I might as well enjoy MY life and not waste it. thats the basis of a monarchy...