The Classic and Timeless Guide To Happiness Through Kindness
Chapter 5 Conflicting Thoughts On Kindness
...Former heavyweight champion George Foreman was admittedly an unpleasant and self-centered man in his earlier years. Its hard to imagine that he’s the same smiling face we’ve seen on television many times, a man who left boxing to begin a ministry and who started programs to benefit young people.
In his book, George Foreman’s Guide to Life, Foreman says: “You shouldn’t be afraid to change; instead, be afraid to stay where you are in life… People seem to forget completely that you bring nothing into this world and you won’t take anything out either – nothing, that is, but the love and respect you’ve earned throughout your life and the memories of what you’ve done for others.”
“Not in his goals, but in his transitions is a man great…A noble man compares and estimates himself by an idea higher than himself; and a mean[average] man, by one lower than himself. The one produces aspiration; the other ambition, which is the way a vulgar man aspires…And you will find rest from vain fancies, and will give relief to yourself, if you do every act of your life as if it is your last… Let men see, let men know, a real man, who lives as he was meant to live… It is not death a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.” [Meditations -Marcus Aurelius]...
I Need To Get Help, Not Give It.
The Talmud reminds us: “Even a poor man, a recipient of charity, should give charity.” By giving, whether it’s money or of ourselves, we add to our self-worth when we see we can help someone else, no matter how little we have ourselves. Our insights into the kind of poverty we face, be it financial or emotional, can also help us better understand what someone in a similar situation might be going through and need just then. A rising tide raises all ships - theirs and yours.
There could hardly be a better example of giving by the poor than the stories told about the victims of the great tsunami in the Indonesia/Thailand region. An experienced and respected British reporter for one of the major news networks said he was truly touched when he saw people who had lost everything, including their spouses and children, sharing their meager food rations with foreigners and tourists. If they could do that in the horrific situations they faced, we can share in any comparatively minimal sad states that we might find ourselves.
When we’re feeling impotent, nothing can help repair a self image better, than to know that we still have power - the power to help make things better for someone else, even if we can’t seem to get it done for ourselves just then. I call it “The Moses Effect." Moses led others to The Promised Land, but he couldn’t enter himself. Sometimes we can help others out of the wilderness, even if it’s not our time yet. There is a healing in helping. If things get bad for you, find someone to help. You’ll not only help them, but will be taking a positive step on the road to getting yourself out of your own dilemma and moving toward becoming whole again...