Loving others really rocks!

Recently, after some introspection, I realized that I have probably been unhappy because I had gotten into the bad habit of living just for myself, despite knowing all the good things about loving others. I knew I wasn’t living according to the Gospel at all, and I decided to try to put myself aside and live for others, starting with the little things.

That Sunday night I was planning to go to bed early to be ready for another busy week. That’s when I got a phone call from my sister, a designer/art major. She was working on a school assignment, which required creating a website and posting pictures of her work. It involved some technical IT skills, with which she wasn’t really familiar. I am more tech-savvy, so she wanted my help.

After listening to her, I knew I could do it, but the particular way she wanted to set up her site was something I had never done before. I knew that this would require more time than usual. I was really tired and was almost able to hear my bed calling my name. Looking at what she wanted to do and at how much time it might take, I was close to saying, “Sorry, can you figure it out yourself? I am super tired today, and I want to go to bed early.”

As I started speaking, I said to myself, “Wait, look, haven’t I decided to live for others rather than just living for myself? This is a chance to live it out!” And so I said yes to this challenge to create a website for her that night. I did my research and tried to figure out how to set up what she needed, and I ended up talking on the phone with my sister for three hours, until we finally found a way to materialize her idea and set up the technical side of it.

When the project was complete, I was tired but happy, and my sister was happy, too. On top of that, I did some new web design stuff that I hadn’t done before — great joy and some new knowledge — that’s not too bad, is it?

 It’s not always easy; in fact, it’s a constant struggle to live for others, because it’s so much easier to just live for myself. But it’s not going to make me truly happy. Especially during this holiday season, as we prepare for Jesus’ birth, it’s good to recognize that loving others makes us happy. Loving others rocks.

By Kazutomo Kudo with Rosa Kim (http://www.livingcitymagazine.com/)