Just do it!

Sometimes we feel like doing something good for someone. When that feeling comes up just do it. It is good to do a good thing for someone once in a while.  My dad told me a story once about what it may cost me if I want to do something good. A friend gave him a bag of rice to drop off for their mutual friend. It was raining but my dad was determined to get the rice to the owner. As he was ridding on his bike to the friend’s house, a vehicle that was approaching drove into a pothole full of dirty rain- water splashing dirty water on his clothes leaving him all wet and dirty. My dad then said that it seemed that each time he did something good for someone he always got something bad in return. But he was quick to warn that the seeming bad reward should not deter me from doing good. Words of wisdom, you would say, and that would be right! Yes, it is good to do something good even when it is done badly at times.

So what is your experience? What lesson has life taught you about helping others? Do you sometimes regret helping people? Does it seem to you that people sometimes take undue advantage of you? It may seem so to you but are you not doing it for a higher purpose and eternal reward? Do you find yourself explaining away why you should not do something good for someone instead of just doing it? Do you ever find yourself arguing with yourself whether you should give alms to a beggar instead of just helping out? Yes, we do that all the time, don’t we? We tend to rationalize on almost everything instead of finding reasons to help.

During tragedies we see people bonding and getting together to do whatever they could for those hurting. Why is this so? We should not only do what is right when there is a tragedy or when someone dies. This is what we should be doing all the time. We should be our brother’s or our sister’s keeper. Doing something good is what we should be about all the time.

So I will give you my one simple commandment. Keep this and you will find some joy that cannot be explained. Here it comes: Never pass a beggar by without giving a helping hand except when you have nothing to give. It is always better to give than to receive. But the problem is that we are all too eager to receive than to give. Why not try something new for a change?