In July 2021, Matthieu Ricard lent his voice to the animated video “How to build a more altruistic world”, in collaboration with Minimento. His aim is to explain with simple words what altruism is and provide ways of developing and nurturing this state of mind in our daily life. Discover it here
Let’s come back to some points covered in the video. To the question “How to build a more altruistic world?” “, three simple solutions are offered to bring altruism into our life
Finding inspiration. We can be inspired by the beauty of the world and by paying attention to all the kind actions that take place around us and which encourage us, in turn, to do good: “Wonder fuels the desire to act”. By changing our outlook on the world, we can marvel at the often overlooked goodness in our lives, the fact that, for the most part, human beings behave with decency towards one another.
Practicing. We can then train our hearts and minds to cultivate empathy and caring with meditation. Just as a pianist can train to become a virtuoso, we can develop a selfless mindset through regular practice. As we leave more room for compassion in our lives, our inner richness also grows.
Committing. In the end, this feeling of wonder and regular training only make sense if they drive us to action. We can all do our part for living beings and for the planet. Let’s use this inspiration and training as a lever for commitment.
Practiced daily, inspiration, training and commitment lead not only to the accomplishment of others’ well-being but also our own. This is the added bonus of an altruistic motivation: by achieving the good of others, we also thrive. By letting kindness, compassion and solidarity emerge from the depth of being, we can experience fully the humanity we share with our fellow brothers and sisters and our common “feeling” with the other species that inhabit the planet. This is how we can put together the pieces of the puzzle for a more altruistic world.
Many thanks to the Minimento teams who worked on this great project!