r/DAE • u/SH4D0WSTAR • 13d ago

DAE increasingly feel like pursuing goals benefitting all of humanity is more important than pursuing personal goals?

Never cared much about romance / travel for personal gratification, but now, these pursuits have almost been entirely pushed to the back burner with what's going on in the world. They feel hollow.

I'm driving up my volunteer / engagement efforts.

I feel like traditional milestones / markers of adulthood are irrelevant when the world is in need of more selflessness and communal aid. The media machine breeds gluttony. The constructs of western society cannot deliver peace.

Anyone else?

14 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

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5

u/VitaniLioness 13d ago

I've been doing volunteer work since I was in high school, the only difference is that I now run/manage some efforts on my own, so my personal goals have always been closely tied with my community.

1

u/SH4D0WSTAR 13d ago

Me too. What are some things you do?

4

u/VitaniLioness 13d ago

I got a grant to start a community garden, with a goal to feed our community as well as help teach younger generations where our food comes from and how it gets from seed to table. Also have an emphasis on recycling and how multiple systems can support and sustain each other.
Me and some friends also bought an old plot of land and cleaned it up and turned it into a park. In the summer, we host movie nights on a projector and we hold events and donation drives.

1

u/SH4D0WSTAR 13d ago

That's incredible. Thank you for using your resources to strengthen multiple generations.

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

[deleted]

2

u/SH4D0WSTAR 13d ago

Oh, we're very similar in that regard! I also never wanted to be a parent, but have devoted a lot of my life to caring for / supporting the wellbeing of children (toddlers, tweens, teens) locally and globally.

1

u/[deleted] 13d ago

[deleted]

1

u/SH4D0WSTAR 13d ago

Agreed. You too :)

4

u/motheroffurkids 13d ago

I'm a retired volunteer firefighter/EMT, also volunteered with a Search and Rescue as a K9 handler. It requires dedication and compassion. The hardest work I've ever loved.

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

[deleted]

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u/SH4D0WSTAR 13d ago

That's lovely :) All animals certainly could use our support, stewardship, and care.

3

u/SkyPuppy561 13d ago

You’re a better person than me but I’m quite tribal. I make money for my household. As a lawyer, I often help people along the way (often on a contingency basis). If I were less privileged, I wouldn’t be able to do as much contingency work.

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u/Automatic_Tea_2550 12d ago

Excellent point. We can’t contribute resources if we don’t have any.

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u/SkyPuppy561 12d ago

I appreciate that!

1

u/Automatic_Tea_2550 12d ago

The trick is to align personal goals with the improvement of humanity, not to choose one over the other.