Is there such a thing as a completely altruistic act? Is it possible for someone to act in a manner that is completely selfless and totally giving? I personally don’t believe there is. And I know some of you will likely throw icons at me like Mother Teresa or Ghandi but I would argue that these were amongst the most selfish individuals on earth and not in a greed, power and possession type manner but in a do-gooder manner.

See, the rush one gets from giving to others freely can be addictive. Have you ever wished for Jesus-like powers to heal people and deliver them from physical or emotional suffering? If so, why did you wish that? Isn’t it because of the rush you would get from being able to help someone in a way in which they could not help themselves? Is that not a type of power which at the end of one rotation of the earth is a leverage to be lorded over others?

A wise person once told me that they were deeply suspicious of anyone who wanted to change the world “for the better” because those people were either ignorant of their own problems or too scared to face them and either one is bad mojo to have in your circle of influence.

That being said, I think the do-gooder attitude has done much good for society because, let’s face it; there are too many people in the world who can’t do for themselves and have grown accustomed to having others do for them. When others don’t do for them, the tendency is to lash out violently and harm others. So, the selfish act of altruism does circumvent a lot of violence and misery in the world but not because of the acts of individuals acting selflessly but instead it’s quite the opposite–people acting in the ultimate of self-interests while still keeping the welfare of others at heart is the organizing force of benevolence in our society.

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