“It feels good to be a part of the universe as it shines upon others,” Acorn’s“Family Man” columnist Michael Picarella recently noted.
Why is helping someone an action we associate with the feeling of being happy?
One explanation is that in doing so we experience “vicarious joy,” or the pleasure we get from improving another’s situation or well-being.
Holidays seem to be a time when many of us look to see how we can help others.
Actions can be as simple as putting coins in the kettle for the Salvation Army, dropping off baked goods for an elderly neighbor or driving a friend to an appointment.
Acts of kindness happen all the time between individuals, both friends and strangers. Facebook is filled with stories of one human helping another. And more often than not, the person doing the helping feels they got more out of the experience (vicarious joy) than the person they helped.