Wednesday 17 October 2012

Donate to Charity

By Lyn Tribes


Everyone can help the community and feel good by donating to charity at the same time. Donations can be in the form of goods or services. Helping the less fortunate is one way of giving back to the community but the inner peace and the sense of fulfillment that you achieve by doing it is worth more than the donations you have given.

If it's such a good thing, then why so many people don't donate to charity? Well, the first thought of giving away something without the hope of receiving it ever back gives rise to a strange feeling - a feeling of loss. Any sense of loss further gives rise to another strong feeling - fear. When we are uncomfortable with something, we always find out fitting excuses for not doing it. The first negative emotion which prevents people from doing charity is the impulse that "all charities are fraudulent." It is true that some organizations practice fraud in the name of charity, but there are quite some charitable organizations that do a wonderful job. Should we rob these good people of financial help because some are cheating?

A recent study indicated that charity giving makes you feel good. A team of psychologists and economists at Oregon University discovered that making donations to charity activates the parts of the brain that stimulate pleasure. Once a donation to charity has been made, the giver gets a reward reaction that is extremely intense, which causes a warm feeling of pleasure that has got health benefits. The idea of being part of a team that has contributed in providing basic survival for victims is very fulfilling. For instance, by contributing $ 20, some individuals somewhere can benefit from having safe drinking water. Being part of a team that initiates building hospitals, learning institutions, improving basic ammenities and distributing supplies of medicine among many others is amazing. All those that donate can testify that charity giving makes you feel good.

The worst ever fear which paralyses people when they think to donate to charity is that they already don't have enough for themselves. This perhaps is the single most reason why people look away from charity. Yes, it's a strong cause - nobody has enough. Starting from the poorest to the rich, everybody toils everyday for innumerable hours for acquiring more. In such a condition, 'giving' looks so meaningless. But, if we look at our expenses honestly, can we say that with an unfaltering tongue? We all are guilty of some amount of whimsical spending. If we can save some of that money and donate to charity we can make a difference. We have to make a habit of it because, when not sure, we are driven by our habits.

We all love to live in a better world where there is no mean and selfish tendencies, where everybody is good and caring. We want all our near and dear ones, especially our children, to be safe and happy. It's not something strange and unachievable, but, it has a price. The price is to "share and care." Those who yearn to live a happy and prosperous life have to learn to share and care. How can we teach our children to be sensitive to the society around them? We have to first donate to charity, not once but regularly. Real teachings are imparted through demonstration, not by words.




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