We Humans Shouldn’t Just Keep Taking

 In our daily lives, we often receive far more than we realize. But taking without giving back — that’s not how life should be.

 

When I don’t get a reply after asking someone for a favor by email, I start to worry.

Maybe they simply forgot to respond.
Or perhaps they want to decline my request but don’t know how to say it.
There could be many reasons — maybe their computer just broke down.

Of course, I don’t enjoy doing these troublesome tasks myself.
It’s just something I got involved in, a kind of volunteer work that I can’t easily step away from.

The other day, a junior colleague from my department asked me to review a paper.

He said he had already asked several people, but everyone turned him down before finally reaching me.
Even if it feels like being drafted in the lower rounds, once you’re called, you have to accept — especially for a younger colleague you care about.

Still, peer review is pure volunteer work.
You spend your limited time and energy, squeezing out what intellect you have left, all for the simple reward of having your name printed in a journal’s reviewer list.
Most likely, he himself is on the editorial team — which means he’s also volunteering.

Human society is built on give and take.

There’s a simple saying: “No work, no pay.”
But volunteer work is different — it’s “Work, with no pay.”

Even so, when I think about all I’ve gained and received throughout my life, contributing in this way feels like a small act of repayment.
It should never be seen as a loss.

As humans, we shouldn’t just keep taking.
Before we die, we ought to return what we’ve been given.

If we can break even — a perfect zero-sum — that’s already an achievement.
And if we ever try to escape without giving back, surely fate will find a way to catch up with us.