By Star Noor, Features Editor
“Your work is to discover your world, and then with all your heart, give yourself to it.” – Buddah
In today’s world nothing is for free, and everyone is always looking for all they can get – that’s the popular mindset, a mindset drilled into us from the day we open our eyes here on Earth . . . But is it the right mindset?
We were once beings of community, but as time has gone by we have moved away from the collective toward individualism, so much so that we’ve lost sight of what’s truly important. In our greed and lust for money, power, consumerism, and all things once labeled the root to all things evil, we’ve come to a place of selfish entitlement.
Such is the paradigm of our global society, though the degrees are varied from culture to culture, and even subculture to subculture. A paradigm so unnerving that most people find themselves unhappy and disconnected. That sense of unfulfilled discord is the reason why so many of us are questioning our current state of affairs. It is why we must start to resist the popular misconception of individualism over community; and many of us around the globe are doing just that, and taking part in reshaping our world.
In a lead by example effort, Sean Coombes, a hairdresser living in Britain, has taken to the streets to “do something for nothing.” A movement which was born out of an idea that we can be and should feel responsible for our fellow man, just because. Along with the help of his best friend and world renowned photographer Matt Spracklen, he has been able to bring attention to and grow the movement, so much so that the world press has taken notice, integral to the success of this very simple and noble idea. It is the thought that we are all able to do well for others without any expectation or sense of higher status as a result. #dosomethingfornothing is by definition an act of kindness for the sake of being kind.
In this effort, Josh who started out as a musician, takes to the streets of London and surrounding areas with only his styling kit to aid him, and he gives those less fortunate and willing a makeover in order to make them feel cared for and capable. “It just happened one day. I had all my gear on me and I was walking past somebody who was homeless and it went from there, really. It was a lightbulb moment in my head and I was like this is an amazing way to connect with people,” he said. “I approach somebody, I talk to them on a human level.”
“During the haircut, it’s quite an intimate thing and you really see someone come out of their shell, and they start talking to you a bit deeper about their life and their situation. And you show that look in the mirror and you’re like their best friend,” he continued in an interview with HuffPost.
In one of his Instagram messages, Matt Spracklen wrote, “To think how far we`ve come with #dosomethingfornothing stuns me. “
All of this is to help ripple the effects of the movement, besides the current and immediate acts of kindness being performed at any given moment, so that others might do for those in need whether for those “sleeping rough,” or just anyone “in need of love.”
So next time we find ourselves in the baseless discussions of stigmatized concepts such as the giving of charity and welfare, and whether that means you are being taken advantage of or not, we must remind ourselves of the idea of doing something for nothing. For the simple and pure reasons of love and community alone, we must remind ourselves what it means to do well, be well, and expect nothing in return.
Image Source: Josh Coombes Instagram
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