Are we amid the season of “giving” or are we in the midst of the season of “receiving?” Regardless of where we stand today on the giving or receiving spectrum, for the most part as residents or citizens of the United States many of our childhoods were centered around receiving and the expectation of some unmerited or undeserving gift. At best some notion of being ‘good’ (shouldn’t we) throughout the year “merited” our receiving toys, money, or some other material goods.
And even as adults we are either carrying on this tradition with our offspring or the offspring of family members. Although we are now the “givers” in this setting, we merely need to turn our attention to the office holiday party grab-bag where we just can’t wait to “receive.” In addition to the receipt of all manner of gifts (even as adults), this season is marked by festive gatherings, feasts with lavish spreads, and a healthy dose of liquid spirits. And yes, there are those that devote some of this season, namely Christmas Day, to religious observance. But the truth is, that’s the minority, and even then it’s about ninety minutes at best.
Now, don’t hit the delete button quite yet. At no point in this article will I attempt to convince you to stop giving your stuff, and more important I won’t try to convince you to stop receiving stuff. It’s not happening and I’m not trying to make it happen. In fact, if I were to attempt that, I would be inundated with emails from you saying “whatchu talkin’ bout Willis” (if you are clueless just google the phrase)!
Again, it's not a knock on how we celebrate, nor am I trying to convince you to go in another direction – I know, I know, it ain't happening. But I do invite you to consider using this festive period of celebration, gratefulness, fellowship, and joy as a period to think about those who are in need. And not just think about those who are in need, but to think about how you can make an impact in their lives. And by impacting their lives there will be a residual benefit that you will receive (the true gift).
I'm talking about having a spirit of altruism. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines altruism as “feelings and behavior that show a desire to help other people and a lack of selfishness.” I direct you to the keyword of behavior. It is great, wonderful, and super terrific that you may feel altruistic, but feelings alone won't feed the hungry child; feelings alone won't provide blood for survivors of the next natural disaster; and feelings alone won't provide the needed resources of a domestic violence shelter. I encourage you to go beyond feeling and to behave in a more altruistic manner.
There may be reasons that have prevented you from volunteering. Some of these may resonate with you: I will give time when I have more time to give; I'm so busy at work I just don't have time to give; I have so much to do when I get home I just don't have the time; there's not enough time in the day; I really want to I just don't know how to get involved; I'm just not at the right place, I've got so much going on in my life, I'll consider it when I get myself together.
You might notice that all those reasons deal with time and not money. Money is important. All not for profit organizations need money and it's wonderful if you give money. But I guarantee if you make an investment of your time by rolling up your sleeves and being engaged at some level of the volunteer activities you will gain a greater benefit in return.
How? Here's the secret: there is power in altruism. Whatever it is that you thought was preventing you from volunteering will melt away and become less significant after you have invested time volunteering for the organization and the cause of your choice. Not only are you helping a particular program, but you are strengthening your own self-regard, your own personal power, your own self-actualization. Amazingly, whatever funk, drought, despair, or season of doubt you were in will be lifted as you immerse yourself in the volunteer task you are engaged in. That's the beauty. You are giving of your time for no other reason than to be of service to someone or something else, and by merely being of service your spirit, emotions, feelings, and thoughts will be lifted.
Wherever and whatever position you are in you can take the lead on creating a culture of altruism. If you are self-employed and control your own time the decision is relatively easy, and you will be amazed at how it will create head clearing time. If you are a business owner with employees, you might be surprised how engaged your employees would be in such an initiative (that should be done on company time). If you are an employee within an organization put the idea on the table. The worst that can happen is it is rejected which will give you an idea of what the company values. Or it is accepted, and you will show your skills leading the volunteer effort. If you are a leader in a large organization (that you don’t own) this just might be the idea that brings cohesion to your team. And most importantly if you are in transition between jobs, not satisfied with your job, or recently downsized, volunteerism and altruism might be just what you need during this time. It’s not that the volunteerism will lead to some networking or connection that will land a job interview, but the experience simply gives you the much-needed power to reclaim some level of agency for yourself.
I hope you are moved to do something. I hope you are motivated to do something. I hope the only dilemma you have is you are not sure what to do. I can certainly help with that. Here's a link to Feeding America, put in your zip code and it will search for a food bank near you. There will be plenty of volunteer opportunities listed at your local food bank’s website.
And if you don't like that area of volunteering, maybe this will spur you to search the web for something more aligned with your interests or passions. If we collectively harness the power of altruism, we might just tip the scales a little bit more in the direction of making the world a little (or a lot) better. So give yourself away to an altruistic purpose greater than you.
Reflection Questions:
What causes are you interested in that might be opportunities to serve?
What will you need to say no to, so that you can say yes to volunteering?
Where might you find resistance (internally) to the idea of volunteerism?
Where might you find resistance (externally) to the idea of volunteerism?
What might you do to overcome this resistance?