As I Understand Judging & Helping Others...3a

Do you remember how exciting it feels to be going somewhere that you want to go, especially when you know how to get there and you know it's where you belong? That's all fine and good, but the real excitement comes when you don't know what your destination is going to look like. Sometimes I'm like a hunter who isn't sure what his prey will look like, this time. I'm hunting for the feeling of contentment I have when I'm living a helpful, useful life.

What confuses me is that all around me are people who seem happy and content despite not seeming to have the same concern for living a useful life. But who says they're not helpful, useful people? Maybe they are very useful. Maybe I'm being too quick to judge. Maybe that's one reason we're told not to judge lest we be judged.

Somewhere we're told to love our neighbors. Is loving another word for helping? Helping does seem like a manifestation of love. Is one part of helping people realizing that they're sick people trying to get well and not bad people trying to be good? If we focus on really helping others, we won't be thinking about problems we may happen to have, and judging them will be less likely.

Someone asks, "Why would I want to help others? What's in it for me?"

Plenty is in it for me. Helping others gets me out of my own head. Sometimes my head is a dangerous, depressing place. Sometimes I'm not someone I want to be alone with. At times like this, helping others is a safe alternative.

Like most people, I know how it feels to be discontent. Sometimes I'm discontent, but not for long. Why not? Because I found a solution. This may not be the only solution, but helping others is part of the solution that works for me. The important thing to remember is a principle I may have touched on in an earlier post about different colored crayons, which is "Just because one solution or color is right doesn't mean another is wrong."

Helping others is one of ways I've discovered to help myself shift from feeling discontent to feeling content. I haven't yet shared all the ways I've found, but I'll reveal more of the steps this brain damaged person takes to feel content in upcoming posts that have a number in the title.