The inciting Altruism blog
The inciting Altruism Story
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.
So this is great and all, but what are we trying to do really?
Because we believe, sincerely and empirically (and with the support of countless studies), that altruism is beneficial to others as well as to the self, we'll be working to promote charity and service, and in effect elevate communal ties. Our mission is to serve as the catalyst for the change that we wish to see in the world.
Simply put, we would like to:
- Inspire those who have had little to no experience with service
- Aid those who desire to be more altruistic, and
- Celebrate those who have made altruism an important part of their lives
To do so, we've created a blog to allow people from across the world to share their diverse range of experiences with volunteering and encourage the rest of us in our altruistic journey. We'll also be uploading resources and research – local and global – to share exciting and actionable ways in which you can give back to the world!
These things mentioned above are just to get the ball rolling; there is so much more we have planned! For a sneak peek at all the other initiatives and projects we have in the works, take a look at our Upcoming Projects page. And if you have any cool suggestions, want to contribute to our blog, or lend a hand in any other way, check out our Contact page or give us a holler at admin@incitingaltruism.org and we'd be more than delighted to talk!