TRAUMA AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT

The sudden experience of having people depend on us is frequently traumatic. The choice to shirk responsibilities pushes us away from other people and predisposes us to make similar choices in the future. Such choices heighten our prejudices and make us feel less deserving of people’s kindness. On the other hand, ministering to people’s needs is the surest way of making us feel like members of the larger family of mankind, which itself as a result of our acts of devotion comes to seem benign. Acts of devotion are the best cure for cynicism.