The Fight For Self III

[JRuss]

CT1118 -- like you I started looking about 6-7 months ago for GAL volunteer opportunities. I gravitated pretty quickly toward something in the hospital. It took a surprisingly long time to get through the application process, interviews and training, but I'm now able to volunteer (I usually go Sundays) at the hospital by going around various wards and visiting with patients, asking what I can do (non-medically) to make their stays better, etc. The main benefit the patients get seems to be the conversation even more so than what I can get for them. I feel so great (but tired -- I'm an introvert) afterwards, to the point where I've asked myself where the line between pure altruism and self-interested behavior is. Am I doing it for the people stuck in the hospital, or for me? And is "both" an ok answer (I think it is)?