WHY SHOULD WE VOLUNTEER?

I have come to this small town of Gujarat in India.

I can see a bungalow from the window of my hotel balcony. I am watching this man- who I presume is retired-staying in that bungalow since last three days.

Every morning a man comes out and flings grains while brushing the teeth.Soon various kinds of birds like peacock, peahens fly down and feed on the grains.

After a while, the man comes out with the roti. The cow is standing at the gate waiting for him. He feeds the cow, pats her and goes inside. He comes out with water, waters the plants and keeps some in the pot for the animals and birds to drink.

In the afternoon, a woman comes with a child. The child must be around five. The mother wants him to stand in a shade of a tree but the child prefers to be with the mother even though it means being under the scorching sun.

I see this duo in the morning too. The mother is a garbage collector. I have seen her collecting garbage in the morning. She comes in the afternoon to collect food. The man comes out and hands over the food to her.

In the evening, I see the man giving tuitions to children in his verandah.

I am impressed by this man. On the last day of my trip, I pay visit to him.I praise him for his thoughtfulness for other beings.

He shares a simple philosophy. All of us are connected. We feel exactly what others feel. If you spread happiness, you will feel happy. True and lasting happiness comes from helping others.

That makes me think. In the morning, I had watched video which had gone viral. The new born baby was sleeping on his mother’s bosom. Whenever the mother kissed him, the baby smiled.

Whenever the baby smiled, I smiled too.

What connection I had with that baby? Why had the video gone viral?

The reason was that everybody smiled when the baby smiled. That is the connection.

We are connected beyond this earth; beyond the universe.There is a synchronized vibration in our being.

That is the principle behind the saying that help others to help yourself.

That is the most fundamental reason why everybody should volunteer.

Volunteering has other benefits as well.

• We gain insight about life. Our perspective towards life changes. We become positive and our overall physical as well as mental health improves.
• We find life meaningful. We feel more contented. Feelings like loneliness and boredom go away.
• We make friends.
• We also learn new skills. My nephew who volunteered in old age home shared that he had learnt to make new games. He would play games with the old people. It had also helped him to become calmer person.