A better world

The sort of world we'd like to have already has a working model. It’s here and in very ordinary ways it’s coming into existance all the time, unselfconsciously. A cat is sitting on a mat, so when I stroke the cat she starts purring. She shows satisfaction. Maybe she purrs to get more affection. Maybe her own purring feeds relaxation back into her own system. This sound-vibration (about the most reassuring sound a cat can make) is important and satisfying to her and it also affects me beneficially. The satisfaction is mutual. A contented human stroking a contented cat - neither is being entirely selfish nor selfless.
These moments are times when all’s right with the world, just by being in a state of familiar satisfaction - at home. However, the significance of being with a beloved cat or a child we’re close to, is that it is a valued experience, but these home values may be carried outside the home, even to the big end of town. We can employ the satisfaction of altruism in any issue-deciding situation.
Altruism, in whatever form it takes, has a magnetic quality. It stands out. People see it even though they don’t mention it. So what is altruism? Is it a method of making others feel good? Not entirely. But it will attract attention. However we describe human altruism, it always has a certain cachet that makes it attractive to others. It’s noticed. It gets us noticed and it feels satisfying too - that’s hardly selflessness. So perhaps pure altruism doesn’t exist because it is contaminated by our own desire. But so what? The main thing is that we are inspired by what is already practised by almost everyone, but largely unselfconsciously.
By bringing it into a fuller consciousness, altruism takes on a usefulness. It has a very practical purpose.

Altruism is often innocent or at least unselfconscious. It may not be directed at anything because we are uninformed and not using altruism or exploring it particularly. Vegans may be different. They have an agenda and are aware of the part altruism plays in the eventual success of their ‘mission’. Vegans are not willing to remain uninformed and have become disciplined enough to start things moving – towards a very conscious social revolution. Our job is merely to make a spark. Not much more is needed - altruism takes over. It’s the beginning of a new attitude of being-with-the-other, empathy, compassion, respect, recognition. When we acknowledge someone else even by saying just “Hi” in passing, or giving them a glance of "at-one-ness", or if we retrieve a cat stuck up a tree. Any action big or small, is making a statement about how things could be and probably should be. We initiate altruistic acts and know each act counts. It is as if each one is a blow for freedom, defying a tendency we all have for self absorption. These acts of altruism, whilst not needing to mean much at all, oil the wheels of our involvement with other people. Obviously, if we did them merely for the sake of doing a good deed, we’d become greasy and disingenuous. But in a modest way each of us can do important things and do them well: like being affectionate or being useful. We are capable of being altruistic in any social setting by showing we care about others and we can almost draw the future into the present, by sketching the shape of a new type of humanity. That shape will obviously not involve violence and therefore will be at the very least vegan.