Mateship - it is the Australian way
Mateship is something as Australians we just understand, don’t we? We know it when we see it, when we give it and when we receive help from it.
Demonstrations of mateship are what we celebrate as a nation, we look for them, crave them even. In moment’s of hopelessness we want to see mateship shine through.
Mateship is a truly glorious thing, a wonderful celebration that mixes equality, help, loyalty, trust, friendship, relationship and empathy all in one. Mateship is weaved through our psyche and demonstrations of it are often celebrated moments in times of crisis.
Over 72% of people we’ve surveyed agree that helping others in a crisis is a part of Australian culture. When it all boils down to it, mateship is about choosing to help people when they need it in ways that they need it and as a Murdoch University study encapsulates it “Mateship is what people choose to do, not what they’re forced to do”
Some examples of mateship are:
Handing out meals to the hungry
Dropping off toys to kids who might go without at Christmas
Donating your time to help people who need assistance with tasks
Reaching out to see if someone is doing OK, just because
Paying a bill to keep a family’s lights on, clothes clean, dinners hot and baths warm
When one person helps another, it can make them both happy. It is a mutually beneficial transaction. When one person needs help, the other is able to fulfill that need for them. The sense of pride of being able to help someone, and the relief of being helped culminate for both groups as happiness. This feeling is not exclusive to just those who are helping others but also those who are being helped.
Asking can be harder than giving
Helping is rewarding, but it can be hard to ask for. This is not because people are inherently selfish, but rather because asking for help feels more vulnerable and exposing than giving it.
But we shouldn't let that stop us - an act of kindness today can make a huge difference. We need to work on the culture of giving help so that it's easier for people to ask for and receive support if they need it.
So what can you do today?
Anything you want. You could wait to be asked for help, or if you know someone who might need help, why not reach out and see not just if you can help, but how that person might like to be helped.
It might feel natural, for example, to offer to make someone a dinner or drop round a bottle of wine, but maybe what they really need is some warm clothes for their kids or help with a gas bill in winter?
Whatever you choose to do, there’s nothing quite like the feeling that comes from helping someone in a way that you know they need.
About HelpPay
HelpPay is a 100% Australian owned company focused on making helping easier.
HelpPay's app is free for anyone to download and the HelpPay Promise ensures that money received to be paid towards a bill only ever goes to pay that bill.
Best of all the HelpPay app keeps a track of how much has been paid so when the full amount owed has been paid it stops accepting payments, providing peace of mind that bills can't be overpaid.
Download the HelpPay app from the Apple Store or Google Play Store for free, today.
