Thoughts on giving

I kind of let myself get a little off-track yesterday - seeing relationships between things when maybe there is no such relationship.  What I really wanted to express is what I see as a move away from the "me first" attitude that's been overpowering the country for too long.  I see and hear more and more about people responding to disasters with aid in money, in time and in work.  I hear more about people stepping up to help those in need.  I think  - no, I know that steps like these, small as they may seem, can set us on a course of greater human understanding.  I guess maybe that giving to those in need is an excellent first step.  It is heart warming to know that people are willing to share what they have with others in need, and we seem to see more of this everyday.  But beyond this, I would love to see us embrace generosity for its own wake.  We're starting to see this when people place items out in front of their home with a sign saying that they are all free.  (Matter of fact, we just got a nice pair of lawn chairs for our little porch that way.)  But beyond that, if you want to surprise people, go to a local coffee shop and buy coupons for, say, ten cups of coffee, then go walking up and down the streets giving them to people and if they ask questions, just say that it's free, no strings attached, then look at the surprise on their face.  Or walk down  the streets putting quarters in parking meters that have expired.  Hopefully, the message will get out, and maybe someday we'll be able to do this without getting the suspicious or startled stare.  Just another kind of paying it forward.  I, for one, will continue to make charitable gifts, but my New Year's resolution is to add more acts of pure generosity.  Believe me, I am not rich.  But changing my own attitude and behavior is making me richer in my being.  Please share this with others.

A positive New Year

Well, the election is over, and we're on our way to a New Year.  Luckily, we must have misinterpreted the Mayen calendar, 'cause we're all still here.  I'm still going to be pushing for encouraging people to think for themselves, and check their facts, but I want to share what seem to me to be some really positive things coming into 2013.  People seem to be starting to move away from self-centeredness, and more towards other-centeredness.  I heard about a couple who had lost a young child to cancer.  His father was with him when he died and posted his last words on a social networking site.  Shortly thereafter, someone in a fast food restaurant paid for his meal, and said that he did it in memory of the child who had died.  Almost immediately people all over the world started performing random acts of kindness to others - some in memory of the child, but many others just to do something for a stranger a la the movie "Pay it Forward".  For this of you who didn't see it, a child did something nice for a stranger "just because" and that person turned around and did something nice for someone else.  Soon these random acts had spread out all over the city.  It seems that every time someone performed one of these random acts of kindness to someone else, that person would turn around and do something for someone else, and the generosity and the giving spreads further and further.  It can be something as simple as looking directly at people you meet on the street or in the mall, smiling at them and saying "Hello".  It's so much fun to see the surprise on their face and see them smile.
And on a broader level, it looks like we may see some changes in the way our government operates.  Our rescue from the fiscal cliff included reducing tax breaks for the super rich - a position supported by over two thirds of us.  Representatives coming in to the new Congress say that they intend to be more responsive to the voice of the common citizens instead of special interest groups, and focusing on resolving those issues.  It's interesting that 1/5 of our Senators are now women who are intent on achieving consensus rather than confrontation as the way to deal with issues.  And if they achieve that consensus based on what their constituents want, we will be well on our way to returning to a more representative form of government.  
These both seem to be positive indications of a new movement toward concern for others rather than always looking out for number one.  It indicates an intention to move forward in ways that benefit each of us individually rather than special interest groups representing the benefit of only a few.