In this material society, we’ve become programmed to focus on doing things that we can benefit from, but can something really replace love, and can something other than love really have as big of an impact on the world? “If we’re destroying our trees and destroying our environment and hurting animals and hurting one another and all that stuff, there’s got to be a very powerful energy to fight that. I think we need more love in the world. We need more kindness, more compassion, more joy, more laughter. I definitely want to contribute to that.” Ellen DeGeneres There are many ways to help make the world a better place, and they will reward you only with feelings fulfillment, compassion and love. However, this kind of reward is worth more than all the gold in the world.
1. Help homeless people
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give” – Winston Churchill People who have a home, happy family and income that can provide them with some material things are really privileged in this world. It doesn’t mean that you should be feeling guilty because of that – you should learn to appreciate it and focus on helping those in need. You don’t know their stories, you don’t know what they have been through, and they are simply invisible to our society. They aren’t different than you, they just didn’t have the same opportunities as you did. When you see a beggar, give him some money, because it can help keep them well fed and warm for another day.
2. Do small acts of kindness
“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” – Mark Twain Small acts of kindness can really change the world. By helping your elderly neighbor carry heavy bags from the supermarket, you will make them happy. You won’t get anything from it, except for the knowledge that you have actually helped somebody. Love and kindness spread quickly, so if you open the door for someone, that person will be inspired to do the same for someone else. Restore your faith in humanity and inspire other people to be kind to strangers
3. Adopt an animal from the shelter
“He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” – Immanuel Kant If you can afford to look after a cat or dog, and have the time and space to do so, adopt one and save one life. There are a lot of obligations when you have pets – they can really make a mess and you cannot go on a trip and leave them home alone. However, these cute messy creatures will make your every day pure happiness by showing you how much they love you. The day spent without a pet, is a day wasted. Give animals shelter, give them an opportunity to have a home and, in return, you will get unconditional love. If you have never had a pet, then you definitely need to let them into your life. Before you take a cat or a kitten to your home, prepare yourself for the arrival and make sure to cat-proof your furniture. If you are rescuing a dog or a puppy, make sure you put up a nice dog house in the garden and put all your fragile items on the top shelf.
4. Love yourself
“Don’t ever criticize yourself. Don’t go around all day long thinking, ‘I’m unattractive, I’m slow, I’m not as smart as my brother.’ God wasn’t having a bad day when he made you… If you don’t love yourself in the right way, you can’t love your neighbor. You can’t be as good as you are supposed to be.” – Joel Osteen This might sound like a cliché, but it is actually the most important thing that you need before you can make a change. If you don’t respect and love yourself, you won’t be able to love anyone else. You need to feel comfortable in your own skin and make a positive change in your life, if you want to be capable of making a change in the outside world.
5. Support local causes
“We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Changing the world starts with you and your environment, so start from your home town. Your town and its people need you, and everything you need to make a change is love. If you are ignorant and you don’t care about the people in your town and other causes, you cannot expect to make a change on the global level. By working together, all the people from one town or city can create small, but important changes, and raise a voice that will will be heard all over the world. Almost every city has a shelter for homeless people. Support the shelter, and donate money or food or clothes, anything that might be useful to them. If your town doesn’t have a shelter, there’s an idea for a project you can spearhead.
6. Don’t hate – love is all around
“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.” – Hugh Grant as Prime Minister, Love, Actually There are certainly people that you don’t like, or even some that you might hate. But ask yourself this: “Why do I hate these people, and why am I allowing them to stress me out?” Haters gonna hate, and there is no reason to feel hurt or even hate them because of that. Stop wasting your time on negative emotions and avoid toxic people, but focus on the people you love. Let them know you love them, and that you are there for them no matter what. Turn off your phone, and look around you. The world is a beautiful place, and all you need is love in order to develop the strength to cope with everyday challenges and difficulties.
