Life Through the Lens

Is helping others a part of your life? Do you do it altruistically, and expect nothing in return? It’s one thing to do something nice for another person, and another thing to do it an expect absolutely nothing in return for it. Altruism is difficult come by, but always worth striving for.

I love the concept of ‘pay it forward.’ It’s not just a touching and super emotional movie released over a decade ago (wow– has it really been that long!?), it’s also an amazing thing to incorporate into your life. We pay it forward a lot in our house by donating items to various organizations.  Every time we move, we donate a bunch of our stuff rather than hauling it with us. A few weeks ago I donated several boxes of clothes to the Salvation Army. Before that, we had loads of furniture and other items that were not needed anymore, so we gave them to the Children at Heart Ministries (we also donated one of our cars to them in 2009 when we bought a new one). We also love taking any books we’re finished with to our local library.

We’re sort of on a ‘mission’ to simplify our lives and get rid of excess ‘stuff’ (inspired by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits) but I loathe garage sales (maybe I’ll elaborate on that another day ), so we’d MUCH rather donate. Not only is is a tax write off (which really is just an added bonus), but it helps so many other people! And it just feels good.

Thanks to some tweets recently by SafePlace, which is a local Austin organization that “exists to end sexual and domestic violence through safety, healing, prevention and social change,” I was reminded that they are also an awesome organization to donate to!

I studied interpersonal/domestic violence throughout grad school from a communication perspective (even have an article published on that topic, and my M.A. thesis on estrangement violence will be presented at the National Communication Association conference this fall!). When I took a School of Social Work class at UT Austin in the summer of 2009, we learned a lot about SafePlace and toured their incredible facilities. And back when I lived in San Diego, I volunteered at the Family Justice Center, so organizations such as these have always held a special place in my heart. Domestic violence is heartbreaking and whoever devotes their life to the prevention of it or care for those affected by it, gets gold stars across the board in my book.

Last week I saw a tweet from SafePlace that they take car donations, and a couple of days ago another post that they are in dire need of diapers, sizes 4-6, to help their youngest residents. Not only did I have a bunch size 4 and 5 laying around our house, but a ton of other stuff to also donate that they needed (e.g., baby wipes, baby soaps/shampoo, adult toiletries, brand new diaper bag that I bought and never used, a box of stuffed animals from my childhood, school supplies leftover from my academic days, and even some food!). SafePlace is so amazing because they aren’t usually open for donations on Mondays, yet they still encouraged me to come down and deliver my items. Jose and I have also been discussing for a while becoming a one-car family (inspired by my friend Bridgett as well as Leo Babauta) for several reasons which I may discuss another day (e.g., helping the environment, getting rid of excess, etc.), so we are about to start the process of donating one of our two cars to SafePlace, too.

Besides donating, another personal way I love to pay it forward is through my photography. I’m always looking for more ways to do this. Sometimes it’s as simple as doing a portrait session for a family or a sweet young couple on a budget, either for very little money or, wait for it… for free. Cue gasp! I probably do this more than I should admit to any other photo professionals reading this, for it can sometimes be discouraged against for the sake of lowering the value of the kinds of services we offer. However, I feel that great photography and art should be affordable to anybody who wants and appreciates it (which is another reason I can’t bring myself to skyrocket my prices or charge an arm-and-a-leg for someone’s disc of photos). I love my job so much, that I’d rather do it for free for someone who truly enjoys it, than not do it at all. That doesn’t hurt so much on the karma front either, right?

If you have everything you need in life, or if you have too much and would like to simplify, why not share the wealth? I’m always looking for new ways to pay it forward, so if you have suggestions, please pass them along!

Do you pay it forward? How? If you don’t, why not? I’ll be focusing on this today through meditation and/or my yoga practice by asking myself, “How can I be more helpful to others?”