I want you to care about other people today. When you focus on caring for others, something profound happens to you. Your attention will change. You will move from self-centered awareness to life-centered awareness. Believe me, life centered awareness is a much bigger perspective. Here, you will find yourself making decisions based on what is needed as a whole; rather than needs based on meeting your own personal goals.

As you begin to realize that you are part of a much larger consciousness, some of your personal challenges seem smaller. Why? You will notice that everyone has needs, wants and desires. Many times in life, we focus too much on ourselves and not on the needs of others. If you do this too much, you will isolate yourself and not let anyone into your life. Although there are times when you need time alone to recharge your batteries due to so much outward focus, you will find that concentrating completely on what you are doing for others is a distraction from self-centered awareness.

At the end of the day, take some time for yourself. You will need to find ways to balance the needs of others with your own needs. In the end, you will notice that one of the greatest gifts we have to give to others is to give our lives knowing that we have helped someone else’s day a little better. This will also satisfy your own need to fulfill your reason for living or purpose in life.

Not long ago, I held a funeral for a man whose wife asked him to share with her the most important thing in life that was on his mind at the time. Without hesitation, she told him that the most important thing in her life is “caring for others.” He was a man who had won several awards for the contributions he made to the community. He was a professor of Psychology and planted many seeds in the soul of his students. These seeds of awareness will allow your students to gain perspective and lead purposeful lives for years to come. By caring for the needs of others, this teacher will live from generation to generation.