Day 37 (thirty-seven) of 365 days
Being of service to others and doing thoughtful things that make a difference in the lives of others, as well as our own. This virtue begins with observation and awareness. Through the virtue of helpfulness, we give of ourselves and grow in love. It does not necessarily mean taking over and doing everything ourselves but means giving assistance.
Helpfulness is being of service. It is doing useful things for people, such as things they cannot do for themselves, something they do not have time to do, or just little things that make life easier. It is important to be helpful to ourselves too, by taking care of our bodies. There are times when we need help from others. That is a good time to ask for help.
We all need help sometimes. We need people to teach us, and people to give us their strength or ideas. Sometimes we just need a friend to talk to. If there were no helpfulness, there would be no cooperation. When we practice helpfulness, we get more done. We make each other’s lives easier.
We are living in a value-based culture. At the world’s fast pace, everything and everyone is quickly evaluated by how much value they will add to our lives. If they don’t seem to offer much value, then we tend to move on.
I’ll admit that I’m guilty of judging myself on this same scaling system. At times, I consider how much I have to offer other people and base my self-esteem around that. “ How much value do I add”, I’ve asked myself, “and how can I add more value to other people’s lives?” In many cases, this type of mentality can bring benefits to the lives of others. It can even masquerade as helpfulness, but the heart of this mentality is shallow because it’s done for our own well-being instead of the well-being of others. When performed for individual gain this type of behavior can easily become a vice.
Helpfulness comes from a heart of caring and a desire to really know the other person. Before we can be helpful, we must seek to understand. I know I’ve been in situations when I think I’m being helpful but I’m only making the situation worse! Usually this is done with the best intentions, but it comes down to the fact that I didn’t really understand the needs of the person I was trying to help.
The value that we offer doesn’t always translate into helpfulness. To be truly helpful, we must become like a student of the people we seek to serve. Before jumping in to help, let’s take time to care, to listen and be aware so that we may be of the greatest service to the people we love the most.
