PT Rehab kitchen[/caption]Carol Forsloff---“You can't help everyone.” How many times have we heard someone say that as someone struggles to assist another individual. But is that a virtually true statement or a general statement that allows people simply to absolve themselves of responsibility by a verbal shield of sorts? And are there personal benefits in helping others?
Literally the statement is true. It would be virtually impossible for a single person to help everyone else with anything. On the other hand, inventors develop products that can help nearly everyone. The Gutenberg Press was an example of that, for it facilitated the development of reading. And the Internet allows for the transference of information that includes life-saving ideas across the world that can aid millions.
Recently the Journal received a notice from an individual that simply said that humanitarian articles are a bother and asked to be excluded from any notices, as the individual “is happy” and wants to remain that way, being unable to help anyone else. Surely the human response to a massive undertaking, “You can't help everyone,” makes sense when an individual needs emotional distance. Is it, however, an emotional or physically healthy belief?
Science tells us that humanitarian work and volunteering not only provide a level of necessary activity and community involvement but also physical health benefits. Studies have found that those who volunteer receive physical, mental and social support in return for their service. By staying in contact with others, they avoid the isolation that can facilitate and prolong depression. Mentally volunteering and doing humanitarian service also supports thinking and communication skills. It has also been found that those who volunteer live longer than others.
Psychologists also tell us that helping others serves to prevent or alleviate depression. When our minds are on something other than our problems and ourselves, there is a tendency for that cloud over our heads to dissipate.
And with the passing of Nelson Mandela, the great humanitarian servant of South Africa, it is clear that service brings gratitude and change, sometimes a change that affects the whole world, when the character of a man is revealed as being one reflected by service.
As Mahatma Gandhi once said: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
