In many ways, humans today lead considerably better lives than their ancestors. Across the globe, infant mortality rates have dropped, life expectancy has gone up, poverty levels have fallen, literacy rates have ballooned. Overall, we are doing better than the generation past, and far better than the ones preceding that.

All this is not to say that we have attained a utopian society – far from it. New challenges are constantly arising in our world and many older ones still persist. One such challenge particularly dear to us at Inciting Altruism is that of rising loneliness and the resulting disillusionment of communities.

Like most of you out there, we too are just curious souls in perpetual search of meaning in our lives. Like many others on this never-ending journey, we've ventured down several paths – but nothing ever seemed to stick. Eventually, we came to realize that the only actions that resulted in any sort of sustained fulfillment were those that we undertook for the sake of others. Our personal achievements, however impressive or disappointing, never really seemed to factor into our sense of self-worth or our proximity to greater meaning.

So with some research and much deliberation, we arrived at the idea that perhaps one of the paths to meaning and fulfillment in life, is a commitment to the wellbeing of those around us. And if we followed that path, or at least made repeated efforts to tread upon it, then as individuals we could add substantial value to the world around us, and consequently even live a life of satisfying contentment. 

We also realized that building tighter-knit, more involved communities will evoke greater empathy and inspire countless acts of kindness among fellow humans – and might just encourage deeper charitable giving. All of these efforts combined can give us a greater chance at tackling the most troubling global issues of our times.