Recently a well known politician died. He was an important leader.
I am not going to mention his name because this is not about him but about people like him. People who occupy a position of power or authority.
People in power tend to believe that they are indispensable … that the community they serve would be worse off without them.
Krishnamurti once said that politicians have a tendency to become full of themselves … all puffed up with their own ideas and achievements.
In other words they get to the point where they believe they can shit standing up without making a mess.
Although people like that say that it’s an honor to serve the public, by the time they finishing talking, they make it look as if by serving they are doing the public a favor.
In fact, when people serve they are giving and when they give, especially without expecting anything return, they are doing themselves the favor. The big benefit of giving because it’s such a positive thing, is that it naturally expands both the mind and the heart.
I am not talking about just giving money here, but about the giving of oneself like volunteering at a soup kitchen.
Winston Churchill said “we make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give”.
Science has proven that altruism over a period of time does rewire the brain.
Studies by the Harvard Business School and (US) National Institute of Health found that just giving someone else money made the person doing the giving a lot more happier than spending the money on themselves.
Scientically speaking, altruistic behavior releases endorphins into the brain producing a positive feeling which researchers like to call a ‘helper’s high’ or the ‘warm glow’ effect.
Widespread research over the years has shown that generosity and the positive feeling it creates, improves our mental and physical health, reduce stress, helps us live longer and deal with a variety of other health problems.
Another thing, when someone observes a generous act, it becomes contagious. Apparently, people get so inspired that it has an immediate ripple effect, spreading from person to person to person to person …
By serving, helping and therefore giving to others … barriers are lowered … prejudices and stereotypes begin to peel away … interactions become more and more positive and we begin to develop a genuine compassion for all sentient beings.
The open hand is not only a symbol of giving freely but of communicating and sharing freely.
