Things Your Should Be Able To Say About Yourself: 3

3.  I am making a difference.
Act as if what you do makes a difference.  It does.

Is it true that we all live to serve?  That by helping others we fulfill our own destiny?  The answer is a simple ‘yes.’  When you make a positive impact in someone else’s life, you also make a positive impact in your own life.  Do something that’s greater than you – something that helps someone else to be happy or to suffer less.

Of course, this doesn't mean we always put others before ourselves, we shouldn't deny ourselves our sense of dignity and comfort with living with oneselves. But it's really true; when I do something that makes someone smile, I feel that my day has been worthwhile. I'm not sure where it stems from, but from a very young age, I was aware of this. Perhaps it's just attributable to the kind of person I am, I'm very sensitive to emotions, not just my own, and part of being an empath, and as I am told, a healer, I have this inner desire to actually help other people and strange enough, a instinct to actually heal. 

I remember one fuzzy memory when I was about 5 years old, and this was during the aftermath of a life-changing event, and our family were moving, and before I knew it I was told that I would be going to a new school. It's simultaneously vague and distinct, my remembering this. There was a girl who I had befriended, she was new I guess, and I believe she was from Russia or something. I don't really know, because, at that age, I didn't know then, obviously. But I felt this sense of "Oh no, what will happen to her, I am leaving her behind" and strong sense of protectiveness and responsibility. So I did what 5 year olds do best. I made her a goodbye gift. It was a bracelet made out of string and pop-can tabs. I wrapped it in newspaper and taped it together. When my father drove us to school to say goodbye, I walked up those steps in my fat snowsuit and said goodbye to the whole class, then gifted it to her.  To be honest, she looked a little like "Wtf  is this old thing?" but still, I felt glad. 

I don't know why I'm sharing that memory in particular with this topic, but that's actually one memory I've held close for a very long time, and somehow I feel it's one of the landmarks as my first "altruistic" act, of many that I have done. It goes back to the last post, being proud of who I am, and I feel truly good when I do try to make someone smile, or feel better, and without this, I don't think I'd be half as glad being myself. 

You are only one, but you are one.  You cannot do everything, but you can do something.  Smile and enjoy the fact that you made a difference – one you’ll likely remember forever.

Often, what we do might go unnoticed. We feel a lack of acknowledgement and accordingly we may stop. I like to know that someone smiled, or laughed, or felt somewhat nicer about themselves because of something I did. I don't need the thanks or gratitude that comes from whatever crazy thing I mightve done, I just like knowing it did what it should have. This is one thing that has always occurred to me, that in selflessness there is the greatest amount of selfishness. If making other people happy makes me happy, and that's selfish, then that just goes to show, it's okay to be selfish once in awhile.