Does helping the needy make us happier? (9)

Before i answer Roomi...How does it make you feel???

if u can put yourself in the others position it will make you happy

Only when one has nothing to lose, honey.

Ultimately we are self serving, so everything we do must please us on some level.

To be seen as a good person makes us happy because the morals and ethics we are taught, make us like to be seen as good, and when we do something good we are being part of something bigger. We are told that we are good if we do charitable work.

To do the "right" thing makes us happy by helping us fit in with the practices of others too. We get rewarded with praise for doing the right thing, and castigated for being "bad".

Religions tell us to give, that sharing is "good", so we feel like we reach higher dimentions than our animal state, which makes us happy too.

Scientifically we release more endorphins and seratonin by being more relaxed and having more energy. We feel more relaxed if we don't feel guilty, or are not seen by society as outcasts (misers), so guilt-free we function better, and giving, to fit in, (or for whatever reason), helps us be like that.

We often get rewarded by seeing the faces of those we give things too as well, or hearing their thanks, or hearing stories of the changes our gift made to others. We smile and feel self satisfied.

Society, and the powers that be, whether religious or governmental, ensure that we save them the responsibiility of looking after our poor and disadvantaged, by making us feel guilty enough to share, and reward us with approval, and inclusion, which we seem to crave.

There are probably many other angles to this too, but they would only all boil down to self satisfaction anyway, in my experience.