Because It Feels Good

Why do people do what they do? In the simplest terms because it in some way benefits them. Perhaps it is a jaded view of mankind. In many ways harsh. In every day life in every way people do what they do because in some manner it suits their purpose at the time.

You and another person pull up to stop signs at an intersection at the same time. The law indicates you should yield to the car to your right. The person driving the car to your right waves for you to proceed even though the right of ways is technically theirs. What is the benefit to that person? It was a simple act of kindness and you could reasonably question if they received any benefits at all. In my jaded, harsh universe the benefit is clear. They performed a small act of kindness that realistically
cost them nothing. They get to sit in their car thinking that they are "nice". They get a feeling of satisfaction from their simple act. It, in that small way, was a benefit to them. It happens to each of us a thousand times a day. We act the way we act because it gives us something. We gain something. When we act in our own interest and it hurts someone else we feel bad. Well, at least we should. Those bad feelings are a benefit to us because they make us realize we don't like feeling that way.

There are lots of people out there who worry about doing good and going to heaven when they die. They worry about doing bad things and fear going to hell if they do wrong. It really doesn't matter. It seems to me this quote says it best.

  Isn't really that simple. We feel good when we do good things and we feel bad when we do bad things. Why not choose good? Why waste our time and effort worrying about the things that tend to divide us? We have a common humanity. We have a need to live together somehow in this world. At the end of the day kindness toward each other will do more to heal our differences than all the laws ever written. When we love our fellow man and realize none of us has an exclusive grasp on what is "true and just". None of us can claim to know the path to heaven if there is one. We have this life. We have now. What we do to make things better begins with kindness. If our fellow man is hungry we need to see that he is fed. If he is naked, that he is clothed. If he is sick, that he receives care. It doesn't (or shouldn't) matter if he is Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, white, black, red, yellow, brown, straight, gay, bisexual, republican, democrat, communist, socialist, or any of hundreds of other ways we separate ourselves into groups. We are, all of us, human. Deserving of the kindness of our fellow man. We need to do better. We can do better.

It starts with me. It starts with you, too. We can make a difference. One small step at a time. When we do good we feel better. When we feel better about ourselves we treat our fellow man better. Then our fellow man feels better and he does good. It is not like ripples in a pond that fade as they move away from the initial action. It is more like a fission reaction. One good act creates two. Two good acts create four. Four good acts create eight. Eight good acts create sixteen. Kindness, love and mercy create a place where more is possible. So, in a good way, go out and act in your own self interest. You can change the world, one kind act at a time.