The Ordinary Impact

I recently read a quote attributed to Seth Rogen: “So many people paid to watch the Mayweather v McGregor Fight.  Imagine if everybody paid to build up their communities or help people in need.” That quote got me thinking about how we respond to the needs of people around us so I put the quote on Instagram with the words “Great thought, @sethrogen. Can we make it happen?” From that post I was correctly reminded that our communities are funded by tax dollars so, in essence, when we pay taxes we are building up our communities and helping people in need. But shouldn’t we take it a step further, at the very least?  Shouldn’t we be teaching our children and our children’s children the importance of giving (and being generous)? In my opinion, giving is a noble act. I’ve been known to say that generosity and giving to others is the right thing to do. As humans, we should be looking for opportunities to give, and taking those opportunities when they present themselve...

It is difficult to breathe in  Colorado . The elevation seems to have that effect. One  website  described it as the air pressure outside being lower than the air pressure in a person’s lungs, which makes it difficult to breathe (among other things). I’ve experienced it. Running through the mountains - with no one else around - I felt shortness of breath, and after trying to push through it (like I’ve been known to do), I relented and walked for a bit. Hiking in the mountains had a similar effect. While running (and hiking) with my five year old, I experienced a different feeling. My attention was given to his breathing and his success, and I didn’t notice that I had a problem breathing. Sure, I was moving at a slower pace, but there is something to the idea of helping someone else succeed rather than being self-focused. In social-psychology it is called  moral elevation  (or sometimes just elevation). It’s been studied in detail within the past thirty ye...