What makes one person want to give a tremendous amount of their time to certain causes and others not? It’s not that they are necessarily better human beings, nor are they usually people of great means, but instead have within them this drive to help others in some worthwhile demonstrable way. There is no question that self-gratification comes into play when seeing other lives (human or non-human) greatly improve due to our efforts. We all have our passions which push us toward wanting to give back in such a way that sees results.
A study performed at Washington University’s George Warren Brown School of Social Work examined whether personality traits and volunteering are independent predictors of physical and mental health. They utilized data from the St. Louis Personality and Aging Network (SPAN) by sampling community-based adults between ages 55 to 64. When testing whether volunteering is a significant predictor of both physical and mental health (controlling for personality traits), they discovered that volunteering is not significantly related to either one. They did incidentally find that lower neuroticism is related to better physical and mental functioning, and higher extraversion is significantly related to better mental health, which is not surprising. Their results showed that volunteering may be related to better health outcomes due specifically to the volunteer’s personality more so than the actual volunteering experiences, per se. So if volunteering doesn’t necessarily improve us, it certainly can change us in unexpected ways. We are all aware of various sufferings in the world, which can leave us overwhelmed at the pure magnitude of them. The opportunities to lessen these pains in some way are unparalleled in our country today. There is never an excuse to ever be bored! Plus, you will witness transformations taking place in both the recipients and you, where connections form in a profoundly unique way. There is no hierarchy or status measurements; we are all equal. Volunteer work can knock us off our pedestals, an ultimate occurrence when working within the framework of their typical environment. Who do most of us think we are? You’ll learn real quick when you see people or animals suffering unspeakable physical or emotional pain, and yet a smile, hug (even from an experimental lab monkey) or tail wag still easily comes forth from their souls. Gratitude is not towards you as much as it is a survival mechanism where they focus more on what little is left of goodness in their lives. It is an amazing attribute to witness.
Another study from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, which may be of more interest for Baby Boomers, tested the hypothesis that purpose in life (deriving meaning from life’s experiences and possessing a sense of intentionality and goal directedness) reduces the dangerous pathological effects of Alzheimer ’s disease on cognition during aging. They performed a longitudinal, epidemiologic and clinicopathologic study of aging where the 246 participants’ brains were autopsied at death, the final act of generosity, in my opinion. Every year a structured interview took place along with evaluating cognitive function. Once deceased, the researchers measured pathological changes including amyloid plaque and tangles in the brain. The results showed that a strong purpose in life positively modified the deleterious changes and that these people exhibited better cognitive function than others with AD. This protective effect of purpose in life was not altered after controlling for other potentially confounding variables. In other words, these pathological changes had a much less negative effect on cognition than with those who felt or demonstrated little purpose in life. The researchers speculated that having a life purpose is associated with better everyday competence, social integration and goal-orientation, which enhances resilience in the individuals. This, in turn, may strengthen the efficiency of neural systems developed over the lifespan. It’s interesting that this goal-oriented behavior doesn’t prevent AD, but alters the expected characteristics of the disease. Another thought is that purpose can “invoke compensatory processes in the face of accumulating damage,” which I feel is more likely. The more positive the social relationships, the less depressive symptoms, associated with AD, can take hold. I bring this up only because volunteerism can bring purpose to a person’s life. Purpose that is “other-focused” vs “me-focused.”
As I relate this information, I find it relevant and interesting, but know that this alone would not encourage people to volunteer if they are not inclined to do so. Does a deep passion or disturbance over injustices have to exist in order to give of their time and efforts for a specific cause? Maybe, maybe not. A minority of volunteers perform works of kindness solely because it’s a religious duty, a kind of crown of righteousness earned from their good works. The recipient of this “generosity” knows the difference. Most volunteers don’t see themselves as particularly saintly people. As a matter of fact, I would say humility probably best describes them and usually there is very little mention of what all they do on a day to day basis unless they want to discuss the beauty of the experiences or encourage others to join them. Helping others is just a way of life, not something done out of drudgery or duty. Well, OK, duty is probably part of the equation, but volunteering is always done with joy in their hearts, no matter what difficulties are faced during the encounters, which can often be heartbreaking.
I was privileged to experience being a teenager throughout the entire decade of the 1960’s. Most of us, as diverse as we were, had to involve ourselves in some way with the culture in which we were raised. The Vietnam war, civil and women’s rights, music morphing into protest songs, new immigrants from Cuba and other countries, (12 % of those born between ’46 and ’55 were from another country), equality for all, JFK, Bobby Kennedy, MLK, and so many other reforming social idealists influencing our young determined minds. Student activism reigned and the year of 1969 culminated in a peaceful music festival called Woodstock which made the older generation cringe. Now what, do you ask, does this have to do with volunteerism. A lot, actually. Any personal action which tries to better society in some manner, no matter how trivial it may seem, is important. Whether it’s actively changing attitudes of hatred no matter the consequences, landing on the moon where we witnessed another realm of God’s magical creation or social norms growing out of a simple Dylan song, Blowin’ In the Wind; it’s all equally important. “How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn’t see?” That verse always gets to me because we all tend to ignore or refuse to acknowledge the horrors that many people and animals face on a daily basis. Every time we hear of the calamities in others’ lives and do nothing, we become part of that universal pain and all of society is lessened by it. Often I hear, “I don’t have time, or “I just can’t get involved because it’s too emotionally disturbing.” We can all relate to these justified concerns. It does sometimes hurt, but the reward far outweighs the discomfort of witnessing it. So many of the recipients given assistance do not often see themselves in as dire straits as we do. Many of them are actually much stronger than us, which gives volunteers the fortitude to stay connected. This is especially true with young children and animals. I’m not sure how our environment “feels” but I am sure it groans frequently due to our misdeeds.
A study performed about 10 years ago, out of the University of Southern California’s Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, found that baby boomers are more committed to caring for their aging parents than the previous two generations. The lead author, Daphna Gans, stated that there is strong evidence showing the resilience of families within our mobile society, counteracting the belief that our family unit is in decline. Familial responsibilities are as dynamic and strong as ever, especially when the adult children are in their 50’s. What was interesting is that the oldest respondents who were in the most need of care, valued it the least, probably due to the fact that they did not want to depend on their children, even when the care was obviously necessary. Those born in the 80’s or later showed a slight dip, but were still more involved in helping their parents than the much older (“greatest”) generations. So volunteering as a caregiver for a loved one is of the highest service, whether the recipient expresses need or not.
When we view life as primarily a playground for fun, TV shows, reading, money making, sports, travel, shopping and hobbies without regard for the less fortunate and more vulnerable (children, aged, animals) then we are forfeiting the greatest of life’s opportunities…..to love and serve our Creator of the universe by loving and serving his creation. It’s just as simple as that.
~Jane Alise
References
King, H. R., Jackson, J. J., Morrow-Howell, N. & Oltmannus, T. F. (2014). Personality accounts for the connection between volunteering and health. Washington University in St. Louis, MO, Department of Psychology.
Boyle, P., Buchman, A. S., Wilson, R. S., Yu, L., Schneider, J. A., & Bennett, D. A. (2012). Archives of General Psychiatry (JAMA), 69 (5): 499 – 504.
http://pressroom.usc.edu/baby-boomers-value-caring-for-aging-parents-more-than-earlier-generation/ (also found in 2006 Journal of Marriage and Family under that title)