Do I need to be happy to make others happy?

This is a debate that many behavioral scientists have indulged in for long. They quote a proverb "You cannot give away anything unless you have it." I used to argue against this with many professionals, but I could not convince them. Just think, before formal counseling or psychology came into effect, who were the people who would give emotional support? ..... The poor village priest or teacher who barely had enough for himself, or the grandmother who was married off at nine and had become widowed at thirteen?

Where was the happiness, the fulfillment these people had? And yet many of them reached out so well and made others happy, gave them emotional support and solace.

Don't worry if life has given you more than your fair share of kicks and brickbats. Don't worry if you carry scars that may never go away. You have begun a new year, and hence a new phase of your life. Don't be anxious about what the morrow may have in store for you. When darkness comes, light cannot be far behind. If you want to reach out, just go ahead. You don't need a reservoir of happiness to give it to others. As you keep spreading happiness and light, you will keep getting more and more in your stock. Believe me, I speak from experience. – Ali