On Planting for Others

“Asked for whom he was planting, the old farmer answered: for the immortal gods, whose will it was that I should not merely receive these things from my ancestors, but should also hand them on to the next generation.”

“He found a world full of carob trees, so he planted for those coming after. Just as my ancestors planted for me, so I plant for my children.”

“It is not upon you to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.”

“Never consider your own interests, but work to benefit the people and for the generations not yet born.”

“They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people.”

“One generation abandons the enterprises of another like stranded vessels.”

The urge to establish and guide the next generation is measurable, and it shows up three ways at once: in what people say about themselves, in what they actually do, and in the stories they tell about their lives.

Pooling studies that followed thousands of older volunteers, researchers found that those who gave their time were meaningfully less likely to die during follow-up than those who did not.