Give and Get

Not to sound like a pompous idiot on her high horse, but I do like to teach life lessons. Even if, sometimes, I will not benefit from those I have taught. There's one lesson that I like to teach that always seems to come around at the end of relationships whether that relationship is friendship, blood relation, or "romantic" (though sometimes that term can be arguable). So here it is.

No matter what your motives are for dong something beneficial for another person, you are doing it for yourself as well. This lesson has two meanings and they are always both applicable. The first, and really just an FYI, is that once you realize this, you can back the hell off once you have done something nice for someone. You needn't remind them or else you have erased the good deed. You ultimately did do it for yourself as well. Not everyone will admit to believing in "karma", but whether or not it is a conscious thought, usually people will think to themselves: "If that were me, I would want help". That is how it is. Unless you are concerned about something more pressing at hand or you are a sociopath, when someone is in need of assistance, you provide it because you would want the same. It's the golden rule and we humans have had it pounded into our heads since birth. People help other people for themselves as much as they do for the other person. Whether that is a favor to be returned or just because it makes them feel good. Everyone gets benefits.

The next lesson, and a very important one, is that if someone else does something for you, they are likely to enjoy the same from you. This is the flip side of the coin. The former lesson is about the giver. This one shall be about the receiver. It does not necessarily have anything to do with money. It is more about going out of ones way. If I were to perform a task that I did not need to perform, and especially one that is out of my character, it is a favor or a good deed. Yes, I received the "feel goods" knowing I had made the other person happy in some way. But like all beings, it is what I would have wanted had I been in the same situation.

Instead of rambling, why don't I get to the point? If someone gives you something, appreciate it. If someone does something for you, try to pay them back accordingly. And remember that even if it is outside your character to behave in a like manner, it will still make that other person so happy if you return the favor. Otherwise, he or she may not have done it for you in the first place. Unsolicited or begged for, your fellow man wants to be appreciated. So do it, already.