beneficence
Last week I gave to charity. Is that such a big deal? Well, not really, I suppose. Yeah, I toss a buck in those red Salvation Army pots from time-to-time - that ceaselessly ringing bell has an ephemeral way of inducing a modicum of guilt. But I've never written a check specifically for a particular organization. However, charity is a facet of the spirit of the season, right?
Of course people should give to legitimate charity whenever possible, as long as funds and feeling allow. If I was a wealthy man, I would give much and give often. Alas, I am not wealthy. But I figured, here I am, able to afford to live in New York City with a comfortable existence. No, I do not live exorbitantly nor beyond my occasionally meager means (at least I really, really try not to). However, I do well enough to pay my bills and spend excessive money at a bar, club, or pool hall on those recurrent nights out on the town. I also eat pretty well and I never wont for food. I am pretty much able to buy a CD or DVD whenever I'd like, usually without a second thought (unless it's one of those way damn expensive out-of-print Criterion DVD's). I have cable television, a cellular phone, a halfway decent wardrobe (hey - I like it!), a computer, and an iPod... There are a lot of people out there who can't even afford a television, let alone digital cable or a DVD player, and iPod isn't even in their vocabulary.
So, there I am at the office, leafing drowsily through the Metro (the free newspaper handed out at the subway stops), and an ad in the back asks for donations to the Bowery Mission. Apparently, $15.90 could feed ten people, $31.80 could feed twenty people, and so on. And the idea just came to me - "Why not?" So I clipped the ad, and at home later that night I made out a check in the amount of $31.80 and sent it in the next morning.
Charity feeds the soul. My money feeds someone I'll never know, even if it was only a mere $31.80. No, I did not go around bragging about it, though I admittedly felt proud of my wee measure of altruism. I am only posting about it here because I felt the need to express my feelings on giving a little something to the world in these dark days of strife, war, and intolerance. There is good in the world, even if it's a little obfuscated at times. A person who lives with a moderate amount of material possessions and creature comforts can facilitate compassion and kindness with a simple humanitarian gesture (whether it involves money or not - though money usually helps).
And every gesture of benevolence helps to make this disjointed, topsy-turvy world a better place in which to live, even if it only seems to be by the most miniscule degree.
Of course people should give to legitimate charity whenever possible, as long as funds and feeling allow. If I was a wealthy man, I would give much and give often. Alas, I am not wealthy. But I figured, here I am, able to afford to live in New York City with a comfortable existence. No, I do not live exorbitantly nor beyond my occasionally meager means (at least I really, really try not to). However, I do well enough to pay my bills and spend excessive money at a bar, club, or pool hall on those recurrent nights out on the town. I also eat pretty well and I never wont for food. I am pretty much able to buy a CD or DVD whenever I'd like, usually without a second thought (unless it's one of those way damn expensive out-of-print Criterion DVD's). I have cable television, a cellular phone, a halfway decent wardrobe (hey - I like it!), a computer, and an iPod... There are a lot of people out there who can't even afford a television, let alone digital cable or a DVD player, and iPod isn't even in their vocabulary.
So, there I am at the office, leafing drowsily through the Metro (the free newspaper handed out at the subway stops), and an ad in the back asks for donations to the Bowery Mission. Apparently, $15.90 could feed ten people, $31.80 could feed twenty people, and so on. And the idea just came to me - "Why not?" So I clipped the ad, and at home later that night I made out a check in the amount of $31.80 and sent it in the next morning.
Charity feeds the soul. My money feeds someone I'll never know, even if it was only a mere $31.80. No, I did not go around bragging about it, though I admittedly felt proud of my wee measure of altruism. I am only posting about it here because I felt the need to express my feelings on giving a little something to the world in these dark days of strife, war, and intolerance. There is good in the world, even if it's a little obfuscated at times. A person who lives with a moderate amount of material possessions and creature comforts can facilitate compassion and kindness with a simple humanitarian gesture (whether it involves money or not - though money usually helps).
And every gesture of benevolence helps to make this disjointed, topsy-turvy world a better place in which to live, even if it only seems to be by the most miniscule degree.
posted by Walls Falling at 9:08 PM
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