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Jun 3, 2016

It Genuinely Feels Good to Give

I hope this isn’t received as a humble-brag because I don’t intend it as such.

I was having a down day

I haven’t mentioned it yet on this blog, but I used to be a pretty major pothead. Not long ago actually. At the time of writing this, I’m exactly 4 months since my last puff. The reason I bring this up now is because my recovery from addiction is what has helped me become more giving.

The Narcotics Anonymous program is the fellowship that I’ve been introduced to and — for the most part — it’s working. In so far as the goal of the program is to keep addicts from returning to active addiction, it’s working perfectly. Why am I talking about NA and addiction? Well, one of the phrases you would hear quite frequently if you were / already are a member of the NA fellowship (and probably many other 12-step programs) is:

We can only keep what we have by giving it away.

This is Watsi. I’m glad it exists and I think it’s a BRILLIANT idea.

Give something, and feel better.

I’m really not too surprised, because I’ve done it before, but today it worked again. I was feeling down… just because… and I saw a link on Facebook for a new non-profit healthcare charity called Watsi and a lightbulb went off in my head. Oh, yeah… give something away! The premise behind the charity is they help pair up donors with individuals all over the world who would be otherwise unable to afford some form of medical treatment.

I immediately felt much better.

So, once again, no humble-brag. I just wanted to let other people know my experience and perhaps inspire somebody else to give. FYI, full disclosure, I only donated $5. I say “only” because in my perception that’s not a whole lot of dough. On the flip side of the coin, it all adds up. Also to the credit of Watsi, they‘ve done a great job with their UI (user-interface) and you can even keep track of everyone you’ve helped and where they all live on your profile page.

I have no doubt that this connection between doing something good for others and feeling good as a result has something to do with spiritual matters. I won’t preach my spiritual or religious beliefs any more than I have so far. I thank you for letting me share what has worked for me. Feel free to spark up (wrong phrase…) a conversation with myself and other readers in the comments below.