Are We Obliged To Help Others?
Non nobis solum nati sumus.
(Not for ourselves alone are we born.)
~― Marcus Tullius Cicero
Hey what's up HIVERS! 👋
In today's update let's talk about whether or not we are Obliged To Help Others. Legally I would say we are not but morally I would say we are obliged to help those in need. There are so many sayings posited by different thinkers over time emphasizing the importance of acknowledging other humans especially those who are less fortunate than we are. Tomorrow is a mystery they say and things might change in the blink of an eye and we meet ourselves at the mercy of those who we previously perceived less fortunate.
Reading a certain book on meditation, I came across a story narrated to the writer by a monk, during one of the writer's stays at a monastery, I can't remember the exact words but I remember the lesson from the story.
Adversities just like a storm came and go, the sky never stays blue, one minute it will be covered in thick cumulonimbus clouds ready to bust the next minute it is all clear without a single cloud in sight...
In the same way, I believe our situations can change, and it is not guaranteed that we will remain where we are, either less fortunate or the fortunate. Of course, a lot of factors lead to that, but there is no harm in offering a helping hand to someone in need and saw some good karma for oneself, you never know when it comes in handy and you are at the receiving end. We don't only have to help our friends because we care deeply about them, our parents and family members but also those who we don't know, total strangers.
Unfortunately, some see the advantage in putting on a facade and seeking out help when they really don't need it, but this shouldn't concern us when we offer to help, since we are not doing it to be rewarded back, we are doing it since we are aware of tomorrow things might change, and even if they don't it doesn't hurt to show compassion and offer that hand to someone who is down.
There is a problem though, and that is with the people who do it not because they really care, but with the perception, they get from others knowing and acknowledging their efforts. Some want to be considered philanthropic but not because they are really concerned but because they have ulterior motives such as using that to hide once wrongdoings and get into the good graces of people. If I was asked, I would advocate for people to offer help and just shut up about it, since many get lost in the race towards recognition. Help because you care, help because it makes sense to you. But don't do it to buy yourself a name in front of the masses.
At the end of it all, we only have what we give, and what goes around for sure comes around. We can choose to be oblivious of this fact, but that doesn't stop it from holding true.
I don't want to live in the kind of world where we don't look out for each other. Not just the people that are close to us, but anybody who needs a helping hand. I cant change the way anybody else thinks, or what they choose to do, but I can do my bit.
~― Charles De Lint
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