Re thinking/Apology
Last week I wrote what I intended to be a blog about Giving and Humility. It ended up coming across as judgmental and self-righteous. I apologize to anyone who was offended.
This blog got me looking at INTENTION. My intention with the blog was to get the message out there that giving is about how good it makes you feel when you give from the heart, not to just look good or compete with your friends.
But I didn’t look at the intention behind those people’s giving that I was judging. Apparently the person who paid it forward at Starbucks did so because someone else had done that for her. And it made her day! And so she wanted to make someone else happy. She also thought announcing it on Facebook would encourage others to do the same thing.
I worked for nonprofits for thirty years. I know they need money desperately to keep their doors open. They don’t care why people give, as long as they do. So if people donate because their friends do, so what! As long as the people who need it get help. The outcome is what’s important. And a plaque on the wall with the donator’s names.
So it comes down to this: I still believe in giving from the heart with just the good feeling you get from it as your reward. But I can’t change society by myself. If parents don’t raise their children teaching them about giving just for the sake of giving and others think it is great to donate, pay it forward and announce it to the world, then just as long as the people who need it get help, that’s what is important. Who am I to judge?
I SO agree with you! I didn't think it sounded judgmental but I didn't know the situation or people involved. But you're right: as long as those who need help are getting it, I don't think it matters why people give or how many strokes they get for it. Too many needy people out there! I give what I can, which sometimes isn't much, but I know it's all I can do and it makes me feel good just to be able to do that little bit. Case in point: a while back there were some Boy Scouts and their Troop Leaders collecting food and grooming items at HyVee to send our troops overseas. They handed shoppers a list of things servicemen and women couldn't get for themselves, things like fruit roll snacks, deodorant, razors, items we take for granted until they aren't available (a lesson I learned TOO well the year I lived in South Korea with an unemployed husband and three cold, hungry kids). Anyway, that day at HyVee I had less than seven dollars to my name, so all I could afford was a lousy box of microwave popcorn to plop into the collection box. It was embarrassing. But that box of popcorn was one-seventh of my entire food budget that day, so looking back I am proud I did it, embarrassment or not. I doubt the man or woman popping that corn in Iraq or Afghanistan right now cares how much I spent, only that he or she gets to enjoy a tiny taste of home.
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