Restoring Faith in Humanity
Every day we are bombarded with news of gun violence, terrorism, scandals, murders, and controversies. Sometimes being exposed to all types of media makes you feel helpless. It makes you feel disconnected from and angry with the people around you. We need to find some sort of inspiration to help us stay positive, to help us find our humanity again, and to let us stay true to our values and principles. One way to do this is to recognize and look for acts of humanity that gives us moral elevation. Moral elevation is the warm feeling in your stomach when we see others doing acts of courage and kindness. Sarina Saturn, a researcher from the University of Portland, says, “Moral elevation not only boosts our positive emotions, but it also promotes our love for our fellow human and inspires us to be better people. Indeed, making an effort to experience more moral elevation will restore our faith in humanity and encourage us to help other people.” Seeing others do good acts also drives us to take care of ourselves better too. We get encouraged to do right by others and make us focus away from the negatives in our life and in our surroundings to shift a more positive outlook. We need to infuse inspiration in our lives so we can protect our mental health and others’ mental health around us and help make the world around us a better place to live in. There are several ways we can do that. First, be careful what you expose yourself and others to social media. Avoid pointless arguing in the comments or chat groups or sharing negative content. Instead, make it a habit to post or share positive news from the world. Always check if what you share or post will be more hopeful or harmful. Second, volunteer for a cause that you believe in. It does not have to be something big, just something doable and one that you’re passionate about. Hearing that “thank you” from people you help or from your fellow volunteers is enough to keep you inspired. Along the way, the one you helped can even pay it forward by also doing their share to help others in need. And lastly, try a little mindfulness. It may seem simple, but this packs a punch. Remember, someone is going through something and not everything you hear or read on the news or in social media is necessarily true. Stay open-minded, lessen the judgment, and be mindful of the world around you. Read the full article
