Giving
I think most people can agree that there are a lot of people going through a world of financial hurt. Not because they lost their wallet, lost money in the stock market, or lost a bet, but for the simple reason that they are just down and out poor.
Bill Clinton wrote a book called Giving and in the chapter, "How Much Should You Give and Why?" it shows statistics derived from U.S. income tax data showing that if the top 14,400 taxpayers gave away 1/3 of their income, the total would come out to about 61 billion dollars. Think about that a second. It's a sum of money that wouldn't even be missed.
I think the reason is that people see money as something they collect. It's like me collecting lion figurines or swizzle sticks, but the collections of the ultra rich are green and have the portraits of Presidents on them. For the ultra rich, and there are thousands out there, money ceases to really mean much once it reaches a certain monetary height. It is no longer a commodity in and of itself, it's something that is collected to show. There are people who could buy a 21,000,000 piece of beach front property in Laguna and not bat an eye and it wouldn't even put a dent in their checking account. It would be the equivalent of me handing a homeless man a couple of dollars.
Than, why don't they give instead of collect?
Personally, I think the problem is that they have never thought about it because they live in such a different universe that the rest of us do. They are for the most part encapsulated from the rest of the world and it's suffering. How can a person empathize with someone who is poor, when they only surround themselves with the rich? It's impossible to clearly see the whole world when only part of it is lit for a person to see. Yes, there are exceptions, I admire Jon Bon Jovi, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie for what they do and they should be commended for it. They set an excellent example for everyone else, yet the majority of the people at their financial level just look from afar and politely clap.
It feels good to help people. I tutor kids who have difficulty with reading and writing. It's fulfilling and gratifying. When I leave their home I feel like I did something that meant something. I have a spring in my step because I'm improving the quality of their lives by helping to educate them.
If the ultra-rich would take the time to fund an after school program, a homeless shelter, a drug detox center, etc. they would see for themselves how incredibly fulfilling it is to give of oneself without expecting a financial return. It gives life meaning. It makes the world a better place. It brings us closer together as human beings. The amount of satisfaction received is something that can't be measured in a balance sheet or stock portfolio. It is something so much richer and so much better.
When we die, we will not take anything with us. We all rot the same way.
While we are alive is the time we should leave our mark on the world, not by the toys we have accumulated and our fat bank accounts, but by the love and joy we have bestowed on our fellow human beings by our unselfish generosity.
Bill Clinton wrote a book called Giving and in the chapter, "How Much Should You Give and Why?" it shows statistics derived from U.S. income tax data showing that if the top 14,400 taxpayers gave away 1/3 of their income, the total would come out to about 61 billion dollars. Think about that a second. It's a sum of money that wouldn't even be missed.
I think the reason is that people see money as something they collect. It's like me collecting lion figurines or swizzle sticks, but the collections of the ultra rich are green and have the portraits of Presidents on them. For the ultra rich, and there are thousands out there, money ceases to really mean much once it reaches a certain monetary height. It is no longer a commodity in and of itself, it's something that is collected to show. There are people who could buy a 21,000,000 piece of beach front property in Laguna and not bat an eye and it wouldn't even put a dent in their checking account. It would be the equivalent of me handing a homeless man a couple of dollars.
Than, why don't they give instead of collect?
Personally, I think the problem is that they have never thought about it because they live in such a different universe that the rest of us do. They are for the most part encapsulated from the rest of the world and it's suffering. How can a person empathize with someone who is poor, when they only surround themselves with the rich? It's impossible to clearly see the whole world when only part of it is lit for a person to see. Yes, there are exceptions, I admire Jon Bon Jovi, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie for what they do and they should be commended for it. They set an excellent example for everyone else, yet the majority of the people at their financial level just look from afar and politely clap.
It feels good to help people. I tutor kids who have difficulty with reading and writing. It's fulfilling and gratifying. When I leave their home I feel like I did something that meant something. I have a spring in my step because I'm improving the quality of their lives by helping to educate them.
If the ultra-rich would take the time to fund an after school program, a homeless shelter, a drug detox center, etc. they would see for themselves how incredibly fulfilling it is to give of oneself without expecting a financial return. It gives life meaning. It makes the world a better place. It brings us closer together as human beings. The amount of satisfaction received is something that can't be measured in a balance sheet or stock portfolio. It is something so much richer and so much better.
When we die, we will not take anything with us. We all rot the same way.
While we are alive is the time we should leave our mark on the world, not by the toys we have accumulated and our fat bank accounts, but by the love and joy we have bestowed on our fellow human beings by our unselfish generosity.
posted by Luciano at 12:11 PM
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