Some people may argue that the idea of kindness and compassion are untraural to our human nature or even that it is not truly beneficial to the human species. In fact if you look at our world today it’s not hard to conclude that people are selfish, competitive, violent, and self serving. Although there maybe some truth to this notion, I argue that human nature is essentially based on compassion and kindness. Not only does doing well by others feel good but there are measurable physical and mental benefits to being compassionate and kind to others around us.
When reading the article “Reclaiming Our Innate State Of Happiness” I found information on Thomas Hobbes who was a popular philosopher in the seventeenth century who was one of the many who held a pessimistic view on the nature of humanity. He never hid the dark view he had of the human species. He argued that the human race was nothing but violent, competitive, in continual conflict, and concerned with only self-interest. Overall he didn’t believe that humans had any interest in genuine human kindness.
Although Hobbes puts up a compelling argument, especially when we consider the wars, famine, and capitalism we have dealt with in our world, I don’t think he is showing the whole picture of human nature. Even Hobbes himself was caught in a act of kindness to another human being on the street showing that as screwed up as our world may be sometimes, our humanity shines through when we least expect it.
In fact kindness is our primary mode of behavior and this is shown not only by actions but by facts. From the moment we are born, we drink milk from our mothers or from someone else and that itself is an act of affection and compassion that we cannot survive without. The dalai lama shares that although people think our main nature is based on selfish acts, he offers that the reason for the anger, violence, and aggression may certainly arise from our frustration in our efforts to achieve love and affection.
According to the Dalai Lama, he believes that this violence and frustration we see is not an act of human nature but rather a misuse of human intellect. He also shares that when we combine kindness with education, we can learn to respect one another’s views and rights. Having this ability woven within us can help us to overcome the aggression we sometimes have within us and to be able to fully resolve the conflicts that we have.
The article “The New Science Of Gratitude” starts off with a story of Stephen King, a well-known writer, who was the victim of an automobile accident which occured on the side of a country road not to far from his summer home. A distracted driver veered off the road and struck King, throwing him over the windshield and into a ditch. He had just barely missed falling against a rocky ledge.
Although he still had to go to the hospital to treat the injuries he suffered from, he survived what could have been a horrible tragedy. When he was later asked what he was thinking when he was told he could have died, his answer was simply “Gratitude”. This story represents how gratitude can occur in the most unlikely times and how people can turn a negative situation into something they can be thankful for. The author later talks about how his focus in the span of a few years was on happiness and goal striving.
A couple years after this focus, he was invited to a small conference with other scientists who each received a topic to research and present to the group. The overall topic was “Classical sources of human strength” but the topics to pick from were, “wisdom, hope, love, spirituality, gratitude, and humility”. Although it wasn’t his first choice, he was assigned gratitude. He began to do an in depth research on the topic so that he could understand the basis of the universal strength that gratitude is. He soon came to discover how gratitude is deeply woven into human beings.
After the conference was finished, he collaborated with a psychologist who worked with him to do scientific research on gratitude. They ended up making several discoveries such as discovering scientific proof that when people regularly engage in experiencing gratitude, they experience psychological, physical, and interpersonal benefits.
Even loved ones that were surrounded by these people who integrated gratitude into their lives reported that they seemed happier and were more pleasant to be around. They also shared that they felt that their true and kind selfs showed through when they experienced gratitude which perhaps shows that gratitude is the first steps towards embracing one’s true sense of compassion and kindness.
The article, “Modern Spiritual Masters” shares information about Gandhi and all that he has done to benefit the people. For those who don’t know, Gandhi was the hero of the Indian independence movement who did more than anyone to lead the theory and and practice of nonviolence. Although many wanted to believe that Gandhi was in a good christian, he never could admit that he was because his beliefs did not exactly lineup with those of christianity. Gandhi remained Hindu and said that Jesus did not call people to a new religion but to a new life which gave a whole new perspective to others.
Ghandi not only showed compassion for other people through his ways of spreading peace and happiness but provided people with new qualities through his movement such as peace and gratitude which ended up bringing happiness to the people which is one example of why people admired him so much. There are said to be numerous christians who, because of Gandhi, have become better christians and for that they are grateful. Ghandi provided a shining example of how compassion and kindness can be harnessed towards political change. In the article “Doing Well By Doing Good: Benefits For The Benefactor”, The author first off starts of by stating that “one does well by doing good”.
He then goes in to talking about the kind of community service that counts as selfless acts of service such as tutoring children or cleaning up a park. He then argues his theory that by doing this type of service or by doing good, you will benefit or you will do good. Sociologists have stated for years that there are benefits of social participation. By socially participating in services, people find a role and status through the service which makes them feel as though they have a purpose in the world which ultimately enhances their psychological well-being.
Psychology research shows that by doing service and having a role, people are provided with some type of protection against mortality which means that by showing compassion to others through service, you can ultimately live a longer and healthier life. When people help others they feel better which could ultimately help those who suffer from depression and could cause the immune system to strengthen which could help those people live a longer and healthier life.
Newman, Vasudev, and Onawola interviewed older adults ranging from 55 to 85 who volunteer in three school programs. Sixty-five percent reported that they felt that their life improved drastically, Seventy-six percent reported better feelings about themselves, and thirty-two percent reported improved mental health.
This evidence shows that compassion and kindness results in a more fulfilled and healthy life. While it may be tempting to fixate on the negative parts of life and humanity, especially considering that the news only reports the worst aspects happening in the world, the human race is overall brought up on good intentions.
Even though humans are capable of the worst atrocities we are also capable of having selfless acts of compassion and kindness towards others. Although people may seem selfish and self serving, most people are capable of showing the good and kindness out of their hearts when needed.
Through the research I have done, I have come to the understanding that if we as humans want to live a happy and long healthy life, we need to be able to experience gratitude, kindness, and compassion more openly. As the world attempts to become less and less violent, perhaps we will further spread these positive teaching of peace such as Gandhi did that will help our human race to be as one.
