Helping Myself to Help Others

I read a lot of Buddhist philiosophy and as I see it, the prime directive is that by living better you will affect change all around you. I struggle with this, one because it's hard but also because sometimes it doesn't seem to be enough. I just finished the essays in Someday We'll All Be Free by Kevin Powell. He lays out, in a very personal way, that things are fucked up. The realities he presents are a downer and they make my attempts to become a better person, to spread the light by being the light, trite, selfish, and even silly. As I have digested this I have to say, where else to you start? If you can't commit to change of and for your self then how the hell are you gonna help change anything else.

One of my favorite blogs has a list of 29 Happiness Hacks to Feel Better Now:

• Hack One: Goals
• Hack Two: Chores
• Hack Three: Laugh
• Hack Four: Aid
• Hack Five: Socialize
• Hack Six: Inspiration
• Hack Seven: Exercise
• Hack Eight: Posture
• Hack Nine: Music
• Hack Ten: Nature
• Hack Eleven: Hug

I encourage you to go to Scott's blog and read through the other 18 hacks and well as all of the other incredible info. And recognize that when you engage yourself and encourage yourself to make your world better you will in essence be working to making the world of everyone around you better and at that point you are socially conscious.

Technorati Tags: socially conscious, self-impovment, buddhism, kevin powell