Selfless acts… (27)

It seems ever decreasing for people to perform selfless acts, if possible I think we should try and do this once a day or if that doesn’t seem possible at least once a week.

What is your definition of selfless act? To me I define as something being done with no gain for oneself.

In this day and age I think it’s important to put a smile on someone else’s face or make someone’s day whenever you can.

hey Atlam

great thread .......topic i was thinking about alot -but do you think selfless acts exist...I mean i would love for some people to prove me wrong but somehow my gut feeling is that most acts are motivated by self interest ..or am i being cynical.. examples of selfless acs cited on this thread would be greatly appreciated .......


anyway all who read this have nice day

howdy to you Ghost.

Perhaps I could read your mind

Have a great day hun.

'Love thy neighbour as thyself'

Who is your neighbour?

I believe everybody we come into contact with is your 'neighbour' in this sense......... you can't really beat treating other people as you yourself like to be treated, can you?

Is anything truly selfless though? Doesn't it make YOU feel good to make somebody else happy?

What's harder, in this day and age and in many 'western' countries is being brave enough to admonish bad behaviour in kids/young people; it's far easier to turn a blind eye than to reprimand somebody for throwing litter on the street than have them hurl obscenities at you in return or vandalise your car (this kind of thing happens in the UK).

Is a selfless act then something that makes you an unpopular party-pooper?

Hey - nice thread........ and it IS nice to do something good each day..... I find that smiling at complete strangers makes some look very uncomfortable, but what the heck!

Morning to you Mr Rusty,

Makes you think doesn't it. To me my neighbour is the person next to me, the person within my peripheral vision, the person down the street and so on.

It's a question I have asked myself many times over and can anything truly be a selfless act? Does it matter if what've you've done makes you feel a little good about yourself for a split second. If it can bring happiness to someone else I think not.

For instance you decide to buy your lady love an amazing bouquet - why? because you love her and you want to put a smile on her face. There are other instances obviously where giving flowers can be out of guilt but let's put that aside on this occasion.

It is also my credo to treat others as you would like to be treated.

Sure......giving is always nicer than receiving; especially if the person appreciates your gift. I am always embarrassed at receiving gifts though; which is mean of me - I should think of how much pleasure it gives the other person to give me a gift and be happy for them!

Good thread, great idea.......good day everyone

I am afraid if you do a selfless act today, you get suspicious-nobody might believe that you do it without ecpexting to gain anything.I have seen that and I have become very carefull about it. Maybe its the Greek mentality which can't believe that you want just to do something nice or kind. So I just can have a smile for everybody- but even that is sometimes difficult!

Funny as I was having a conversation with someone only this weekend and speaking about whether or not they smile at strangers.

I think it depends where you are in the world. Honestly back in the UK it can dangerous to smile at some strangers. I am perhaps more open here and Malta and do tend to smile more at people on the street as I find myself making more eye contact with people here.