PROGRAMMED TO CARE!!!

And Here's Why...

As someone else has undoubtedly broken the seal on a seasonal taboo, then let it be repeated: Christmas is less than a hundred days away. This means, of course, a majority of us will binge-watch and be moved by all the holiday movies that activate our Nucleus Accumbent and Cingulate cortex…not to mention the Medial Prefrontal Cortex. And how could we ever forget those special moments that are totally ‘Temporoparietal Junction’ material? 

    That list might sound more like a forensics report off ‘CSI’ than your response to the hundredth viewing of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, but those sections of the brain are precisely the ones triggered when you perform an act of charity, or witness empathy (aka watch Jimmy Stewart in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’). For those of us who hear ‘Amygdala’ and think it’s a Princess from Star Wars, we’ll dispense with the biology and cut to the key questions. Such as,

 Why are we wired that way? And why do our senses light up in specific regions when kindness is employed?  

     It’s telling that ‘anti-social’ is a term that has become so every day, that it’s almost beyond having a meaning. When was the last time you heard of someone displaying ‘pro-social’ behavior? That is the sociological term for empathy, the same one that sets off the neurological pinball machine of our brain’s cingulate cortex, the accumbent…and all those other neurological terms we promise to skip. But their purpose is profound and profoundly necessary.   

      Infants as young as fourteen months have been observed helping others, by sharing their food voluntarily or reaching for objects that other toddlers could not reach. In controlled observations, the toddlers acted this way without expecting any reward from an adult, or any benefit for themselves. Even before the age of two, humans know that it is in their best interest to care for those around them. (And it’s not just humans. Elephants will rally to care and physically support an elephant who is struggling to stand, or distressed in any way. Dolphins will attempt to free other dolphins trapped in nets.)  A majority of living creatures are pre-disposed to engage in helping those around them, at least in their community. 

     Breaking down such powerful feelings and impulses to clinical sub-neighborhoods of the brain may seem like it takes away the wonder and magic, but it’s the opposite. These neural components are how some of the best aspects of life are conveyed. Say that tonight we promised you that negative and positive charges would be combined at a certain altitude, with a specific temperature and updraft. Sounds like a perfect cozy experience, right? Of course not. So how about if you simply just heard the beginning of a beautiful thunderstorm? (Updraft and negative charges are the recipes, but if you’re not the cook, then just enjoy the experience.)

    These different little offices in our brain light up and send off chemicals to different regions when we fall in love, or hear a perfect song, and apparently, also when we realize that we can do something that might make someone else’s life a little less hard. Maybe the earlier image of a pinball machine is apt because when we are experiencing any of those emotions, literally more of our brain is being used. 

    So how could you fire up and engage that loving side of your brain? You’ll know best. It IS a Wonderful Life. Let Link Charity Canada help you to make someone else’s life just a bit more wonderful. Maybe start considering a year-end gift to your favorite charity.??

    And we promise, no more mentions of Christmas. At least until the Halloween sales are over.