Helping People: Compassion, Essay Example

The great Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that the purpose and reason of life is not to be happy. It is to be honourable and useful, to be compassionate and make some difference that in the end to come to the realization that you have lived and lived well (Emerson). These words stem from the concept of humanity. This leads to the question, “why do people help others achieve happiness?” this is the foundation of the concept of humanity.

Firstly, in helping others one can realize happiness in more than one way. For example, helping others can be seen as a form of atonement for previous wrongs or sins committed by one. This is reminiscent with Charles Keating, the infamous US banker who worked with Mother Teresa. Keating was known for the saving and loan scandal that saw him steal a lot of money from clients. He donated to the tune of $1.25 million to Mother Teresa’s Missionary of Charity (Sebba).

Secondly, in helping others, one obtains the feeling of gratification by making someone else’s life better, who may not have any relations to them whatsoever. Human beings are naturally tuned to seek gratification. It is the optimal feeling of happiness, success and harmony. This is the case with Francesca Temitope Danmole, a psychology graduate who has been involved in various charity groups that aim at empowering young people to be the change in the society (TED.com). She attests to the great and invaluable amount of fulfilment she achieved from her charity work.

Finally, it is also important to consider that not everyone can volunteer to help others. The community always has individuals who are challenged in one way or another, be it the physically challenged, the mentally challenged or even the financially challenged (DeVos). These people, no matter how much they want to, they are limited and most of the times cannot help others in the community.

Works Cited

DeVos, Richard M. Compassionate Capitalism: People Helping People Help Themselves. New York: Dutton, 1993. Print.

Emerson, Ralph W. “Quotes About Helping Others.” n.d. GoodReads. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/helping-others. 10 November 2013.

Sebba, Anne. Mother Teresa: Beyond the Image. New York: Doubleday, 1997. Print.

TED.com. “Theme: Shifting Paradigms.” 16 March 2013. TED.com.<http://www.ted.com/tedx/events/8714>.