My observation is that, although playing and getting new toys makes one feel good in the moment, it's like a sugar rush that doesn't last. And too much focus on that, sets up a pattern of perpetual focus on the self. Pretty much all of the “bad” feelings we experience are self based. And if our habits keep us attentive only to our own dramas, it's easy to get stuck in the muck.
Doing for others also makes us feel good. The same way that, upon seeing one, a smile sparks the same in the viewer, making another feel good inspires a like response in the benefactor. It may not be as immediately intense as slipping down a giant slide of self gratification, but it lingers longer and nurtures more holistically. And this sets up patterns, as well. The less attached I am to my story, the more connected I feel to others and the big picture. And the more appreciative I am of my life and how awesome this world is.
Looking from a broader vantage point, people appear less like a slew of competing individuals and more like an organism of human-ness; or even larger, all life on earth looks like a planetary being. One might consider if there's something to do that would help these grander beings. (Which most likely would be work on a “cellular” level, for the sake of the whole.) Although there may not be the same kind of individual feedback, this too, will generate positive feelings in one's self.
Just imagine how much more pleasant societies and life in general would be, if such attitudes and actions became prevalent throughout humanity. And wouldn't that make you happy.
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