Unconscious Do Gooders

"We must be one of those who do good unconsciously."

-- Marcus Aurelius

Choosing to be a do-gooder doesn't really do anybody much good in the long run. Sure, some people will happily accept your assistance, and you might even get that warm little ego glow that sometimes accompanies volitional altruism. But in the end any ego-based act will produce as least as many negative consequences as positive ones.

Why? Because egoic action is never done purely -- it always has an ulterior motive, and that motive queers the whole deal. It perverts our natural altruistic tendencies and twists them in the service of the ego. Sure, the homeless dude gets a buck in his cup, but it isn't because we really want to help the homeless dude, it's because we'll feel shitty about ourselves if we don't live up to our own self-image as a giving, caring individual.

True generosity, on the other hand, is spontaneous -- unconscious as Marcus calls it. There's no intermediate idea of personal gain or of maintaining a positive persona. Unconscious do-gooders don't consider themselves to be particularly virtuous. Hell, they don't consider themselves at all!

Somewhere deep inside you know what actions to take to be in alignment with the Universe and with universal good. When you allow those actions to manifest through, you without premeditating or taking credit for them, you are indeed doing God's work. Because you operate from a deeper level of selflessness, your acts are not creating opposing forces, and the results are just what they are, with no attachment on your part.

You can't volitionally choose to be an unconscious do-gooder. All you can do is open to the Universe and move as the Spirt moves you. When you do that, nothing else matters.