Altruism: A Rare Jewel

Nearly a week ago, on a street in Foshan, China, a two-year-old girl was hit twice in the middle of the traffic with no one having enough compassion to rescue her. Eighteen passers-by simply ignored that dying toddler lying on the road. The nineteenth picked her up and called for help. After spending days in a state of comma, the little girl was declared clinically dead.

A year back, in the same country, a different kind of accident took place. On July 28, 2010, a factory in Nanjing exploded, resulting in 13 death and 300 casualties. The interesting story was: A camera unintentionally recorded a monkey rescuing a puppy during the incident. It ran away from the burning factory with the puppy cradled in its arms.

Ironic, isn't it?

Whereas the morality of man is under question nowadays, animals prove themselves to be more altruistic than we are!

Altruism, the unselfish concern for the welfare of others, seems to be lacking from human civilization. Compassion is a rare jewel in our hustle-and-bustle world. Humanity has turned cold and heartless, even to our own kind.

But the two contradictory examples above knock upon the doorstep of our hearts to turn from the coldness of human life to the warmth of nature. They invite us to rediscover the meaning of being human -- of having and showing compassion, understanding, and love.

Perhaps the reason why we do not care for the welfare of others is merely because they are of no value to us. We are not attached to them, or they to us. In the coldness of modern life, each man minds his own business.

But, this is not entirely true.
In the social structure of society, man is always linked to one another. Our life and the meaning of our existence is only as true as the relations we have with other people, be they colleagues, partners, friends, or strangers we meet on the sidewalk.

Yes, every one of us is a working individual: scientist, businessperson, entrepreneur, employee, employer, government staff, professional, you name it. But each of us is also a parent, a child, a friend, a trusted person to somebody else.
We can develop altruism within us by understanding that each individual is precious to some other people close to him/her, and by thinking that the less fortunate person could have been someone dear to us.
We certainly don't want anything bad happening to our loved ones with no one around to show enough compassion, do we?

Let's start shaping and polishing this rare jewel within us.
Learn from the altruistic ways of nature.