DailyGood

For the last 27 years, DailyGood newsletters have offered a daily email that inspires you to respond to life with creativity and kindness. To join a community of 152,361 subscribers, subscribe here.

Sep 9, 2015

"I wanted to change the world. But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself." --Aldous Huxley

Can People Change?

"One day, after a talk I had given on altruism, a person in the audience got up and said in an irritated tone: "What are you hoping for by encouraging us to cultivate altruism? Look at the history of humanity! It's always the same thing! An uninterrupted succession of wars and suffering. That's human nature, you can't change anything about that!" But is this truly the case?...Can the individual change? And if he can, does this change have an influence on society and on succeeding generations?" Author and Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard takes a deep look at these questions in his book on altruism.