Issues of Superiority: Part I

One of the hardest aspects of volunteering, I believe (though it may not be true for everyone) is learning to give and to change without feeling superior or pity, especially if you are working with people afflicted with poverty, disability, educational differences, and the ilk.

I've been striving, especially as I volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club, to see the kids as they are: kids. It's easy, to see the haves and have nots, the differences, the advantages vs. the disadvantages. Suddenly, my upper middle class education simultaneously makes me suffer from superiority and guilt. However, I challenge everyone to feel neither.

We should feel thankful for what we have, because those things give us the tools to make a difference. We should feel thankful, because a full belly, a warm bed, a loving family, and the ability to speak your mind are truly gifts.But, we should never feel that those gifts make us better (or worse) than anyone else.

The question then becomes, how does one volunteer without belittling who you are helping? The answer lies in respect and in compassion. Confucius is quoted as saying, "Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?" and it's an apt saying. Basically, without respect, we are treating whoever we are working with as less than human. I'm a firm believer that every person deserves your respect until they have proven otherwise. Some might see this general "benefit of the doubt" mentality as naive. Well, that could be true, but I think it's the only way one might succeed at volunteerism.

So, as I continue, both in my own work and studying the works of others, I propose two questions to my lovely readers:
1) What does it mean to be "charitable"?
2) How do you volunteer or do charity work WITHOUT a sense of superiority?

I'm hoping that in the next couple of days, I will begin to present the volunteerism of a number of people. I will also be doing more blogs of the philosophical nature (lawlz), like: What motivates people to do good? Are there solutions to problems, or is our role to alleviate the symptoms of those problems? etc.

Alrighty, signing off, but I will (hopefully! but we all know how it goes with me) blog tomorrow!
Muchos Love,
Celinda