“For it is in giving that we receive.”
~Francis of Assisi
~*~
Phoebe and Joey from the TV Show Friends
"Selfless Good Deeds Do NOT exist"
(runtime: 3 minutes 33 seconds)
YouTube Direct Link: https://youtu.be/ahDxg3hc5pM
~*~
Joey may have a point that you can't do a good deed without getting some form of reward in return, but I think that is a super good deal. All the acts of kindness I've done made me feel really good. I didn't do them to make myself feel good, but afterwards I felt good nonetheless. In this Friends episode, Joey did his good deed so he could get something, while Phoebe did her good deeds for no reward. So I guess selfless acts of kindness are the things we do for others when we do not seek any kind of reward.
All of us want to live in a kinder world and that kinder world begins with us! To get there, we need to always be on the lookout for ways we can do good deeds everyday. Wherever we are - at home, at work, at the gas station, at the grocery store, driving - we need to continuously find ways to perform acts of kindness.
Everyday as we get out of bed we can plan something good to do for at least one person that day. Even small acts of kindness like smiling at others with a cheerful greeting, letting someone cut in front of us on the highway, or bringing snacks for our co-workers - these small things will become big things as our acts of kindness ripple throughout our community and world.
Do you want to live in a kinder world?
Then BE THE CHANGE you want to see.
Even if we happen to find a purely selfless good deed it will still do us good. It has been scientifically proven that doing acts of kindness for others or - now get this - even watching acts of kindness can make us healthier and happier. Doing and even witnessing acts of kindness produces the ‘love hormone’ called Oxytocin in the body. It also stimulates the 'feel-good chemical' called serotonin. These chemicals make us more loving and feel more loved. They calm us down, fight physical and emotional illnesses, reduce stress and anxiety, and lower blood pressure. They also increase positive moods allowing us to enjoy more pleasure. So while we may act in kindness with no thought or desire for ourselves, we will personally benefit from them anyway. That's a pretty awesome thing.
I am going to try to be kinder to the people in my world. I am going to consciously, mindfully be kinder every day. At the end of each day before I go to sleep, I am going to count the acts of kindnesses I've done. This I hope will help me be more aware to be kinder and motivate me to do more good deeds.
I hope you will join me. Kindness is contagious! Let's start a pandemic!
~AOM
~*~
“Do your little bit of good where you are;
it's those little bits of good put together
that overwhelm the world.”
~Desmond Tutu
~*~
“Be mindful. Be grateful. Be positive. Be true. Be kind.”
~Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
~*~
“One man practicing kindness in the wilderness
is worth all the temples this world pulls.”
~Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums
~&~
“This is my simple religion. No need for temples.
No need for complicated philosophy.
Your own mind, your own heart is the temple.
Your philosophy is simple kindness.”
~Dalai Lama XIV