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What to Do

(paulgraham.com)
274 points npalli | 1 comments | 29 Mar 25 12:24 UTC | HN request time: 0.2s | source
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ChrisMarshallNY ◴[30 Mar 25 18:59 UTC] No.43526580[source]▶
> One should help people, and take care of the world. Those two are obvious.

From what I encounter, almost daily, I don't think everyone is on the same page, on that; especially amongst folks of means.

I have seen people without a pot to piss in, treat others -even complete strangers- with respect, love, caring, and patience, and folks with a lot of money, treat others most barbarously; especially when they consider those "others," to be folks that don't have the capability to hit back or stand up for themselves.

As to what I do, I've been working to provide free software development to organizations that help each other, for a long time. It's usually worked out, but it is definitely a labor of love. The rewards aren't especially concrete. I'll never get an award, never make any money at it, and many of the folks that I have helped, have been fairly curt in their response.

I do it anyway.

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copperx ◴[30 Mar 25 19:23 UTC] No.43526766[source]▶
I am really curious about your ethos here. It seems to me there's nothing for you in it. either psychologal, social, or financially.

Is it more like a calling? a spiritual consolation?

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ChrisMarshallNY ◴[30 Mar 25 20:08 UTC] No.43527171[source]▶
Long story.

I’m a longtime member of an organization that is about helping others. It’s not something that I go into detail about, at the level of press, radio or films.

Also, selfishly, I really enjoy this kind of work; especially at a craftsman level. It’s nice to have an excuse to do it.

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1. MrMcCall ◴[30 Mar 25 23:48 UTC] No.43529028[source]▶
Our teacher explained to us that the most selfish thing one can do is serve the happiness of others, due to the universe's feedback loop that feeds the happiness we've sown in our treatment of others back into what we reap within our inner world.

This is the most fundamental law of the human universe, and we all live under its iron fist as its gears grind our life's chosen actions' butterfly wingbeats back into us in perfect harmony with the frequency we emanated out into others, consonant or dissonant, loving or selfish, kind or cruel, generous or callous.

In addition, there are amplifiers and attenuators for both the positive and negative, especially at the narrow ends of our potentials' bell curve, so we best be careful how we wield our free will and the energy we possess to affect the world.

Ignoring this law does not change a person's situation, just their foundation for how they construct their custom decision-tree methodology of preference and habit, thus establishing their inertias and ability to self-reflect. This is because we are free to ignore the truth, just as we are fully free to be the biggest narcissistic asshole we can be given our station in life.

To boot, we're all doing this within multiple layers of our cultures' inertias that contribute to our perspective, once again, as per our choices.

Within it all, at the very center, is the most precious and perilous gift in the universe: our free will, mind, and body co-existing tripartite on this beautiful planet Earth.