Philanthropy – a way of life – 1

In our fast-paced, dynamic lives that we lead these days, especially in the corporate world, where we ‘get up, get ready for work, rush to work, work the whole day, come back home, drop in front of the TV and go to sleep’, there is dryness, monotony. Some admit it, some don’t. Some feel it, some don’t. Everyone has their own way of thinking, feeling, expressing, and reacting.

There are various ways of beating monotony and stress. Some of these are – meditation, doing what you love, spending time with family, pursuing hobbies, learning a new skill, etc. I have done all these and still do, by the way, with a lot of good results. The most satisfying and soulful thing is – Philanthropy. Thinking about others, doing things selflessly for others brings so much peace, tranquillity, love, and balance in life, that it’s unbelievable!

A seasoned corporate professional might scoff at this. Philanthropy amidst corporate life! How? What? Why? There is no match between earning and/or eyeing big bucks and charity. Volunteerism and philanthropy may seem like a waste of time, needless activities for people who have nothing better to do, etc. Others might not know about it or realize the importance of it.

But there is more to it what meets the eye. The utmost happiness in life can be obtained by striking and achieving the best balance in life – personal, professional, social, ethical, health, spiritual, and philanthropical areas of life. The last one is the missing link for most people, who get an average or below on most of the other parameters, except altruism. Sadly, this is not on the priority list.

Philanthropy does not have to be a Herculean task. It can be achieved by small, little thoughts and actions. Helping an elderly person cross the road, taking an hour out to teach the maid’s child, who cannot afford to go to school, feeding a roadside dog, keeping water aside for birds during summers, keeping vegetable waste aside and feeding it to roadside cows are some of the small things, a simple person can do, at least in India.

There are many other areas of need of attention, so many distressing causes plaguing the nation, such as – poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, natural disasters, and their side effects, etc. There are many NGOs and volunteers working round the clock to provide support and relief. But, what are we, average citizens doing to help them? Recently, we saw and read about the severe earthquakes in Nepal and certain parts of India. From the J&K Floods last year to these earthquakes, nature has shown its fury at the utter disregard to the environment, by the most intelligent and developed species – humans. Are we that, really?

What was the majority’s reaction to these floods and earthquakes, in reality? Sympathy, browsing through news channels to see the devastation caused, cursing the Government and God! What else? Have we tried to explore the options of how we can help the affected people? I organized a collection drive at my office and spoke to various NGOs to help with logistics and distribution. We got a very good response. Few people also volunteered to help out with other small activities involved with this relief drive.

Wondering if it is possible to replicate? I was just pondering over this when I got the inspiration to write this post. The intention is to communicate and possibly motivate a few others to take up ownership of small things that can help affected people and society at large – make Philanthropy a way of life.