The Essence of Giving - Free Essay Example

Generosity is the most natural outward expression of an inner attitude of compassion and loving-kindness (The Dalai Lama XIV). Decades ago, resources were being distributed to different places through trading. Scarcity was not a problem yet and people were living their lives to the fullest â€Å" people owned big farms to supply the community with their poultry, cattle and other needs, flourishing gardens for vegetables and fruits, and enjoying the abundance of resources the environment has to offer. In todays societal condition, two of the worlds major problems were overpopulation and resource depletion due to climate change. As stated by Jackson, A. (2017) climate change is the most serious problem affecting the world today â€Å" nearly 48.8% of the survey participants chose climate change as their main concern and 78.1% of them are willing to change their lifestyles. The number of people had an increase and the available resources were decreasing due to the deteriorating condition of the environment making it even harder to compete for the resources available. However, despite of the problems, such as resource depletion, the societys currently facing, there were still people who expresses their inner kindness and loving nature through the generous act of giving. Generositys known as a persons quality of being kind towards others, especially those who are in need an innate virtue of human beings. Primarily because of the abundance of goods that other people lack, or maybe because of helping others was innate in humans. It has not only been viewed as an innate quality of a human being, but rather a practice of those who have a higher quality of life. Considered as an obligation for some, but on the constructive side, it has given people a higher level of morality and reputation. Being generous meant showing readiness to give more of something such as money as well as time. Even people who have nothing much to offer tend to give or offer help to others, knowing what they go through and knowing how it was to go through scarcity. They also know how difficult it was to be stuck in the situation of people who really have nothing no property, no family, and even nothing to eat. Through these tough times, people expressed their empathy by engaging into generous acts â€Å" either through donations, volunteering ones services, or just by simply offering ones support. According to Tutu, D. (2006) generosity is the main essence of humanity. Being able to reach out and help others justifies the essence of what being a human is. Volunteers exhibit generosity, which was widely recognized to have an association on specific psychological factors owing to feed ones diverse psychological needs for a better well-being. These factors included, being innately charitable, having an impact to an individuals giving behavior, being constitutively helpful and being able to show true empathy to people, institutions, society, as a whole, volunteerism as an act of willingness and initiation, and the ingrained happiness and the joy of being empathic. These factors touched an individuals psyche and instigates ones psychological needs that had to be met and fulfilled. As stated by Rao (2013), having classmates from the lower class of the society supplements other students prosocial behavior, which was measured through the students history of actively participating and volunteering in events for a charitable cause at school. In the study, the sample schools offered opportunities for students to engage in charitable causes and fundraising events and activities that involves attending two school afternoons that aims to raise funds for disadvantaged children. The researchers found that having poor classmates increased the students sharing, and having poor study buddies increased the students volunteering, significantly. Also, they found out that having disadvantaged students mixed with the wealthier students in the classrooms increases the wealthy students willingness to play with the disadvantaged students. It increased the prosocial behavior of the wealthy students and at the same time, it seemed to decrease discrimination among the two social classes inside and outside the classroom. Thus, justifying that exposure to people with less resources tend to increase ones prosocial behavior and generosity and that being constitutively helpful and showing true empathy to people who are in need, pictures a wholesome image of a person or an organization who administers charities or other voluntary acts to help provide and improve others unstable wellness in life On the other hand, generous behaviors reap benefits for the person exhibiting it. According to the literatures gathered by the researchers, these were some of the benefits gained from executing generosity. It included the areas of cognitive development, happiness, and empathic joy. Among the things that were stated, happiness was one of the benefits that could be gained from generosity. Some peoples happiness depended on other peoples happiness, on how much they can make them happy or how much they can be able to provide what other people need. The ability to think about other people was a sign of personal growth and maturity, and symbolized strength for a person, which then led to happiness and satisfaction for oneself and for others. What made this study unique from all the other researches regarding the experiences of volunteers, was the fact that the researchers focused on the benefits gained by the people who engaged themselves in charitable acts such as volunteerism rather than the benefits gained by those who received from the charitable act. Therefore, this study helped the researchers take a closer look as to why people keeps on engaging themselves into volunteerism and if their reasons does contribute positively on them â€Å" may it be intellectual or psychological growth, moral stability, and even through their social relationships. Thus, through the experiences of the volunteers and generositys impact on the entirety of a humans well-being, this study also explored the association between helping a person through a charitable act and being helped back by gaining experiences that affected ones well-being. Background of the Study People involved themselves in different ways to express their generosity, through charitable acts such as volunteerism. Ways such as through donations, fund raising activities, helping in kind by giving money or just simply volunteering ones services ignited the fire of an individual who has the passion to serve. Like any other person who already experienced being a part of an outreach program or involved themselves in donating to those in need, the researchers have a fair share of experiences of generosity by studying in the best school in the south. One of which where they experienced generosity on different degrees from small acts of kindness, into having an overall impact on peoples lives through helping, and by doing charitable acts that changed peoples lives. Based on the researchers experiences, small acts of kindness can never hurt, such as giving spare change and snacks to beggars on the streets. Although there were instances wherein the researchers had the feeling of neglecting those who asks for alms and donations because they felt like the intention of the ones whos asking for help was not for their benefit but, rather, a form of forced labor especially since a lot of people were into gangs and other possible crimes, being able to live by the Benedictine core value of community service changed their perspectives. Considering that the researchers studied at the same institution wherein they all finished the Benedictine Lay Formation courses, they charged it as an experience as well, as to how immersing with people living in unfit areas, such as the slums, can help both the one whos giving help and the one being helped-out through learning experiences. The researchers deeply understood and learned the essence of giving to those who were in most need and were able to apply their principles as a part of a Benedictine institution through giving and sharing, which could be by giving gifts, donations, or even by conducting talks, or seminars to help people, not just with their living, but also to sustain their whole being in which moral support is being considered. The charitable activities that was experienced by the researchers as students helped them as well to take a big step in ultimately making generosity as a powerful act of connection with the society. The targeted people to cooperate in this study are students who are currently enrolled or students who graduated from San Beda College Alabang, that were members of organizations whose main objective was to help those in need, in which they held programs wherein students engage in outreach held mostly in nearby rural areas and apply the values that their school inculcates and how they were able pursue living by it. These outreach programs taught the students to have a deeper relationship with God by being Gods figure to other people. This study was conducted by the researchers with the aim to explore the experiences of those who engaged in charitable acts through volunteerism and how they showcased generosity. By this, the informants, also, were able to know the areas in their lives that were mostly influenced by generosity through carrying out prosocial behavior. In addition, the researchers also aimed to find out as to why people continue to engage into charitable acts, despite of the fact that the societal condition was at stake because of the lack of resources wherein they could just save all the time, goods, and energy for themselves to pull through from the hanging state of the situation. Furthermore, the study postulated that people gain from being generous- that people tend to sustain their psychological needs which was a major reason why people persists on enclosing themselves through engaging into charitable acts despite of resource shortages. By coming up with these objectives, the researchers were able to shed some light and contribute to the community by letting people know the essence of giving to those in need and that it possibly helped elicit more prosocial behavior and charitable acts. Upon exploring all the possible options, the researchers found a theory that substantiated their study. The Broaden-and-Build Theory proposed by Barbara Fredrickson suggested that positive emotions such as happiness, joy, excitement, could be interest, as well as anticipation, and the like, enriched a persons points of view and awareness as well as the cultivation of ones thought and actions. Social groups stand on the foundation of cooperation. In lieu for them to develop and prosper, they must be willing to cooperate with one another and share the benefits of mutual and reciprocal labor. The feeling of contentment acknowledges people to extend and expand their perspective towards the world and to themselves, which later leads to constructing better social relations and abilities. Many people tend to be generous or give freely, especially when the reason or the reason for request seems to be a good one, may it be big or small favors, so long as it benefit others. This showed how exceptionally major positive prosocial behavior was, even to the individual level. As per the gathered literatures by the researchers, generosity elicits a positive behavior to those who engages in it. This theory substantiated the study by expounding how a positive behavior from a charitable act can significantly affect not only a persons well-being but also the scope of its impact â€Å" such as psychological factors that would also contribute to ones psychological needs. It was stated that being generous receives gratitude from others, which influenced ones self-esteem â€Å" one of the many factors elicited from a positive behavior. It was also mentioned that once a person received positive responses from doing an act, then theyll receive positive emotions in return. Through that act, that person felt a sense of contentment that helped them open their mind and broaden their view towards the world and the people around them. Most people tend to feel a warm emotion such as being happy and the feeling that they were able to contribute in their own ways with those generous acts. It also revealed that positive behavior induced by the anticipation of giving boosts empathic and charitable behavior from people. Since there were also psychological factors experienced by people who engaged in charitable giving to express their generosity, their attentiveness sparked their scrutiny to gain more comprehension and develop self-growth. This act of charitable giving extracted a positive behavior, some of which were happiness, gratitude, excitement, love, and the like, which significantly influenced the people to be more resilient, more creative, wiser, and to be more socially integrated. Not only did it expand and deepen ones understanding, it also developed a persons standpoint by becoming more open to new possibilities and become more welcome to more advanced ideas. By broadening every persons horizon, they were able to incline to the idea of establishing an enduring physical, psychological, intellectual and social resource that contributed not only for themselves but also for the entirety of the community. As studied by Aknin, L., Hamlin, J., and Dunn, E., (2012), the warm glow that was often felt after a charitable act elicited prosocial acts that provided one mechanism; these psychological and emotional advantages could be observed at an early development. Being able to develop ones resilience, as well as being inclined to social integration â€Å" such as improving social skills, strengthening relationships, and having a positive outlook towards life, have a great impact on his/her well-being. This elicited a higher probability in engaging into the charitable act, thus increasing the positive behavior even more which led to a much better version of oneself. The study also stated that an individual was unique in his/her own traits and that they were different in many ways that could inhibit the impact of prosocial giving to his/her happiness and well-being. Moreover, the theory suggested that negative emotions serve the exact opposite of what positive emotions do, negative emotions like anxiety, fear and anger limits ones ability to be open to new ideas and build stronger resources and relationships, this was because the mind narrows and contracts to focus more on the threat either real or imagined. Since this study aimed to explore the experiences of the volunteers from volunteering, their reasons as to why they still engaged themselves in charitable acts such as volunteerism, and how does it benefit ones well-being, the researchers let the informants underwent a series of interviews. The researchers identified informants that were qualified for their study and conducted interviews after interviews to gather more information about the informants experiences. These interviews helped the researchers know more about the first-hand experiences of the informants and their life-changing realizations. For example, the informants did, in some point of their lives, participated in events like feeding programs, medical missions or any charity events that did not require them to join but they participated eagerly and without expecting anything in return for their help. With accordance to the theory stated, the researchers presupposed that it further elaborated their study. In line with the researchers aim to explore the experiences of the volunteers, this theory also discussed other positive emotions does being generous elicit to an individuals psychological needs besides self-esteem. Thus, expounding the prosocial behavior being elicited by the volunteers as a result of personality development from volunteering. Statement of Purpose For most volunteers, especially students, there was an innate generosity in every individual which turned out to be the baseline of their choice as to why they still prefer to give regardless of their social status, money, and well-being. This study aimed to explore the experiences of those engaged in charitable acts through volunteerism and how they showcased generosity. In doing so, the researchers ask the following: 1. What are the lived experiences of volunteers? 2. Do they consider their involvement in volunteerism as a gesture of generosity? 3. How did the informants develop the sense of generosity? 4. What insights do the informants gain after engaging in their volunteerism activity? Significance of the Study This study will help enlighten the people about the beauty of reciprocity and the essence of giving. The findings willl contribute greatly to the benefit of the society considering that prosocial behavior plays an important role in ever persons well-being. To the administrators. That they will be able to let students engage and be exposed to activities, such as outreach programs, that will improve their generosity as well as to enable them to practice the Benedictine value of community service. To the Benedictine Lay Formation teachers. That this study will serve as a life-changing realization and for them to fully grasp the idea of the true essence of what being a human is imparting their realization with their family, friends, colleagues, and students by encouraging and motivating them to participate in generous acts. To the students. That they will be able to value what they have and be able to recognize the true spirit of giving. That by living up to the Benedictine value of community service, they may realize the weight of their responsibilities as part of the Bedan community and apply these values for the betterment of the community. To the future researchers. This study should be used as an inspiration if they aspire to explore more about generosity and its effects on both the one being helped and the one who helps. That they will be able to use this study to empower people to engage in charitable acts and develop prosocial behavior. Scope and Delimitation In this study entitled The Essence of Giving to those in Need: The Lived Experiences of Volunteers, the researchers made use of in-depth interviews using qualitative method of approach to determine the lived experiences and insights of the informants. Furthermore, there were eight (8) informants who were interviewed. The informants were college students or alumni of San Beda College Alabang who were members of organizations, inside the institution, whose objectives were to be engage in charitable acts such as outreach programs in San Beda College Alabang. The study only focused on how giving help and being generous to others benefited ones well-being and the effects it had on ones quality of life. Also, the study focused on what motivated the prosocial behavior and the factors that contributed to generosity. How they give or offer help and how much help they give was beyond the studys scope.