I feel that narcissism is a cancer on the soul of our society. We are so blessed in the United States, and it is all too easy to be consumed by what "I want" and what "I feel."


As I read the following short article by John Marks Templeton, entitled "Laws of the Spirit" from the March/April 2007 edition of The Saturday Evening Post, I was impressed by how much richer my own life experience is when I think beyond "the all important" ME, and desire instead to bless others by my choices and behavior.

Laws of the Spirit

Happiness comes from spiritual wealth, not material wealth. Happiness is always a by-product, never a product. Happiness comes from giving, not getting. If we pursue happiness for ourselves, it will always elude us. If we try hard to bring happiness to others, we cannot stop it from coming to us also. The more we try to give it away, the more it comes back to us multiplied. If we try to grasp happiness, it always escapes us; if we try to hand it out to others, it sticks to our hands like glue.

The more love we give away, the more we have left. The laws of love differ from the laws of arithmetic. Love hoarded dwindles, but love given grows. If we give all our love, we will have more left than he who saves some. Giving love, not receiving, is important; but when we give with no thought of receiving, we automatically and inescapably receive abundantly. Heaven is a "by-product" of love. When we say "I love you," we mean that "a little of God's love flows from me to you." But, thereby, we do not love less, but more, for in flowing the quantity is magnified. God's love is infinite and is directed equally to each person, but it seems to gain intensity when directed to sinners. This is the wonder and mystery of it, that when we love God we get an enormous increase in the quantity flowing through us to others.

It is better (more blessed, according to the Beatitudes) to give than to receive. Giving is a sign of psychological and spiritual maturity. There are few diseases so childish and so deadly as the "gimmies," a disease that separates us from friends and from God and that shrinks the soul. The secret of success is giving, not getting. To get joy we must give it and to keep joy we must scatter it. The greatest charity is to help a person change from being a receiver to being a giver.

Loneliness is the punishment for those who want to get, not give. Helping others is the cure for loneliness. If we feel lonely, we are probably self-centered. If we feel unloved, we are probably unloving. If we love only ourselves, we may be the only person to love us. Whatever we give out, we give back.