WHEN THE "I" IS REPLACED BY THE "WE", ILLNESS IS TRANSFORMED INTO WELLNESS
There are many reasons to support an NGO. Some organizations support the values of an NGO because they consider them to be fair. Others contribute out of pity in the face of illness or catastrophes, on a one-off or ongoing basis. Others give their time or money because they feel grateful to the life for everything they have and so share it with others.
To be honest, I believe that the main reason for me to collaborate with the NGO “SOGOLO” is selfishness. Many of you will not understand it, but I think that giving my time and my small monthly financial contribution to SOGOLO makes me feel better. I am shifting the “I” towards the “WE”, as the phrase that gives title to this post says, one finds wellbeing in one’s life. In English when we replace”we” by “I”,the word “Illness” changesto “Wellness” which means well-being. This play on words is as real as life itself, or at least it seems so to me. When I stop thinking about my things, my work, my family, my problems, I look at us, at our things, our work, our world, our problems… personal problems are less of a problem because they are relativised. We gain distance, we stop thinking about our navel and we think better.
Being empathic predisposes us to collaborate for the good of others, but if you are not, there are no excuses. Empathy can also be worked on, looking for a goal that gives meaning to our daily lives. This is how Victor Frankl puts it in his book “Man’s search for meaning”: “Man does not really need to live without tension, but to strive and struggle for a goal or a mission that is worthwhile for him”. This is in line with Nietzsche’s famous words: “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how”. And what is this worthwhile mission or goal? There are many. One might be to think of others, to empathise with those who need it most, to collaborate in building a better world… it will help us to live better. Beltran Russel confessed in his autobiography: “Love and knowledge, insofar as both were possible, transported me to heaven. But always solidarity brought me back to earth. The cries of pain echo in my heart. Starving children, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people, hateful burdens on their children, and a whole world of loneliness, poverty and pain make a mockery of what human existence should be. I ardently desire to alleviate evil”. In this way, helping others will make one happy. Hence my selfishness in collaborating with SOGOLO. Do you dare to be selfish yourself? It’s up toyou – help SOGOLO!