Archive for Helping others

Season 5 Episode 12 Darthy

Posted in Quotes with tags , , , , , , , , on November 29, 2012 by Anna Deeds, LPC

Jax

There will be days when you’re forced to make decisions that affect the lives of everyone you love – choices that will change you forever.  You reach an age where you realize that being a man isn’t about respect or strength, it’s about being aware of all the things you touch.  Children face inward, wallow in their own selfish needs.  Men face out, take action on the needs of others.

First, I’d like to point out that you can replace man/men with woman/women in this quote because I think it can apply to everyone.  Hard choices have to be made by everyone in life.  And some of those choices change you deeply and forever.

I made such a choice when I left my job to create a new business for addicts.  It was a hard choice and it changed me in ways I couldn’t imagine.  I realized I wasn’t happy at my job because I couldn’t be who I am.  Such is usually the case with any job.  When you work for someone else, you are a reflection of them and you have to act accordingly.  When you work for yourself, you can be who you are without censoring yourself.

It’s the same thing Jax is talking about when he says “it’s about being aware of all the things you touch.”  I don’t think most people realize how much impact they have on the world around them.  A simple smile can brighten a stranger’s day.  A “like” on Facebook can make all the difference to someone.  You just never know how what you do will affect someone else.  I try to be as kind as possible to those around me because you never know when someone really needs it.

Of course, there are times when I’m feeling down and don’t feel like being nice but this leads me to the next line in the quote.  “Children face inward, wallow in their own selfish needs.”  Children need to be selfish because they haven’t learned how to take care of their needs yet.  They have to rely on others for everything.  This is something that we should outgrow.  As we grow and learn, we are able to take care of our own needs and start to “take action on the needs of others.”

I like that the word wallow is used in this passage.  Wallow is a fitting word for selfishness.   When you only think of yourself and your needs, you may think you’re making your life better but this path leads to depression.  Selfishness and self-centered behavior leave you feeling empty and lost.  Nothing is gained by ignoring the needs of others to meet your own.  I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with meeting your own needs but when you do it at the cost of others, it is selfish.

How sad a world this would be if we only cared for our own needs without consideration for others.   Take action today on the needs of others.  Do something to help out your brother, your sister.  We are all connected and what you do for another will come back to help you.

 

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