Giving Tuesday
I am not sure when or where the idea of Giving Tuesday originated. I do know that for the past few weeks I have received numerous reminders to give on Giving Tuesday, usually with very specific requests for donations of money. It happens that at this time of year I do look at my budget and decide to whom I can afford to give year in gifts. I am not talking about large sums of money. I am talking about gifts of $25.00, $50.00 and occasionally $100.00. I make decisions based on mostly unscientific factors. Almost all of the requests I receive are from organization which benefit a wide group of people. There are always more to which I want to give than my bank account permits. I say that but then I examine the fact that I will continue to meet friends for dinner, treat myself to a movie or a musical performance, purchase an article of clothing which I want but do not need or convince myself that I deserve a computer which may perform a bit better. I also purchase food items which are a luxury such as those yummy lamb chops. In other words, I can hardly claim to sacrifice in order to give on Giving Tuesday or any other day. To say that I sacrifice would mean that I live without something essential. Although I have lived most of my life from paycheck to paycheck, I have not gone to bed hungry or done without some item of basic comfort since I was a child. I have not been a refugee fleeing violence and poverty with only an extra set of clothes, if that. I have not had to leave my home because a bomb has left me and my family homeless. I am not living in a town where the GM plant is closing because many of us have decided that we can now afford to purchase larger, less fuel-efficient vehicles because we have also decided that the environmental cost of fracking is acceptable or we want to purchase electric cars in the future. We will continue to vote down mass transportations options in much of the world. We will collect more clothes/costumes which require larger closets, and more places to dispose of those which are now out style or out of our liking.
In short, I am one of those who have benefited from the toss of the dice by being able to get the education and credentials I needed to earn an unequal share of the wealth and afford to give a few dollars on Giving Tuesday without having to sacrifice or give up anything I need or passionately want.
We in the United States and some other countries live in a market-based economy which relies on profit making businesses which depend on selling products that we need and want so that the owners or stock owners can make enough profit to give back a small percentage to the less fortunate or those organizations such as museums and libraries which enrich our lives.
Although there are some countries which offer quality universal health care and some other basic care, humans have yet to design a system which ensures that the majority are so spiritually healthy that they take only what they need so that everyone, regardless of intellect, mental or physical health or other factors, can live equally well. This would be a society which succeeded in assuring that everyone or nearly everyone was so accepting of their own sacred humanness, that they had no need of power, money, things, class, or titles to prove that they are more than so that they do not feel less then. We are far from being that evolved. This leaves me and many others deciding on this Giving Tuesday how much of the extra I took to give back. Sadly, this requires a level of honestly which often eludes this human. I suppose being honest about my lack of honestly with myself is a start. Yet….
Written November 27, 2018
I am not sure when or where the idea of Giving Tuesday originated. I do know that for the past few weeks I have received numerous reminders to give on Giving Tuesday, usually with very specific requests for donations of money. It happens that at this time of year I do look at my budget and decide to whom I can afford to give year in gifts. I am not talking about large sums of money. I am talking about gifts of $25.00, $50.00 and occasionally $100.00. I make decisions based on mostly unscientific factors. Almost all of the requests I receive are from organization which benefit a wide group of people. There are always more to which I want to give than my bank account permits. I say that but then I examine the fact that I will continue to meet friends for dinner, treat myself to a movie or a musical performance, purchase an article of clothing which I want but do not need or convince myself that I deserve a computer which may perform a bit better. I also purchase food items which are a luxury such as those yummy lamb chops. In other words, I can hardly claim to sacrifice in order to give on Giving Tuesday or any other day. To say that I sacrifice would mean that I live without something essential. Although I have lived most of my life from paycheck to paycheck, I have not gone to bed hungry or done without some item of basic comfort since I was a child. I have not been a refugee fleeing violence and poverty with only an extra set of clothes, if that. I have not had to leave my home because a bomb has left me and my family homeless. I am not living in a town where the GM plant is closing because many of us have decided that we can now afford to purchase larger, less fuel-efficient vehicles because we have also decided that the environmental cost of fracking is acceptable or we want to purchase electric cars in the future. We will continue to vote down mass transportations options in much of the world. We will collect more clothes/costumes which require larger closets, and more places to dispose of those which are now out style or out of our liking.
In short, I am one of those who have benefited from the toss of the dice by being able to get the education and credentials I needed to earn an unequal share of the wealth and afford to give a few dollars on Giving Tuesday without having to sacrifice or give up anything I need or passionately want.
We in the United States and some other countries live in a market-based economy which relies on profit making businesses which depend on selling products that we need and want so that the owners or stock owners can make enough profit to give back a small percentage to the less fortunate or those organizations such as museums and libraries which enrich our lives.
Although there are some countries which offer quality universal health care and some other basic care, humans have yet to design a system which ensures that the majority are so spiritually healthy that they take only what they need so that everyone, regardless of intellect, mental or physical health or other factors, can live equally well. This would be a society which succeeded in assuring that everyone or nearly everyone was so accepting of their own sacred humanness, that they had no need of power, money, things, class, or titles to prove that they are more than so that they do not feel less then. We are far from being that evolved. This leaves me and many others deciding on this Giving Tuesday how much of the extra I took to give back. Sadly, this requires a level of honestly which often eludes this human. I suppose being honest about my lack of honestly with myself is a start. Yet….
Written November 27, 2018
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