“Every sunrise is an invitation for us to arise and
brighten someone’s day.”
Richelle E. Goodrich from Smile Anyway:
Today I have a question for you.
Do you give your spare $20 to one man or do you give a little to several?
This has been bothering me as I walk through town today. I took the train to town and as I got off, I saw a young man sitting in the underpass with a sign asking for help to get to see his daughter.
I stopped to speak to him and he told me his daughter was 2 yesterday and he needed help for the train fare to get there and back. He was 17 years old and unemployed. He was very respectful and blessed me when I gave him $2. He said the little girl lived with her grandparents as the mother was still at school. He acknowledged they had made a mistake but loved his child and was glad they had her.
I walked away feeling pleased that I could help him even if only in a small way, but later the question rose and lingered. I don’t have an answer, do you?
There are more and more young people looking for help. Some are raising money to go on a school trip, some are looking for money for food and some, like his young man, need a little help for a particular reason. I know we can’t help them all, but we can help some.
..
I choose how I will spend the rest of my life 
That is a very good question. I don’t know how I would decide. I hope I remember to come back to see what others say about it.
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I often think if I give 3 or 4 people enough for a coffee then that’s the best use of my spare cash. But I still wonder.
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I think it is noble to give all at once to one needy cause. But you did the right thing in helping that young man with some of what he yearned for. Hopefully there will be more people like you in this world who will contribute in a way they can until there will be enough to get him to his daughter.
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Well several others had contributed before I came along.. I like to think he achieved his goal and saw his daughter.
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I give when I can and the amount or frequency doesn’t seem to be related to anything other than opportunity. Giving is part of my religious upbringing though I am not sure how ‘religious’ I am today. This is an interesting topic today as the subject of giving has very much been on my mind lately. After many years I was surprised to discover a person I know would never consider ‘giving’ and it puzzles me. Then as I began to look at others I knew and discovered a few more. And the strange thing is each of them is better off than the average Joe. Have I grown up with the wrong belief system? After all they are much better off than I. I don’t think I like them any less, I am just genuinely puzzled. And I have asked myself if I want to be more like them. After all maybe I would have more for myself now, but somehow that just doesn’t seem right.
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Yes, we were brought up to give and I hope that this was instilled in my children. And like you I am surprised when I learns that somebody is not a giver. I have acouple of auto payments to charities of my choice, not large amounts but paid on a monthly basis. And giving doesn’t always have to be money; time is equally appreciated by many. Thanks for the comment.
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I think it is very noble of you to feel that way.
In this country, however, more often than not, it is a con.
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Hi Granny. Isn’t that sad that so any people are ready to take advantage of us? And how are you? I haven’t been very active here recently and haven’t seen anything from you.
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Hi Judith. Yes, I have been awol for quite a while but have posted several posts about my road trip. Nice to have something to say for a change.
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I think it’s hard to choose and we can only do what we can.
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Iagree Mary. There are so many on the streets today looking for a handout. I thought this young man was looking for a handup.
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That’s good. It’s tough though isn’t it!
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We each should give what we can with either money, time or a smile!
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Always with a smile.
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Hi Judith, I think there is no right or wrong answer to your question. It is a matter of personal philosophy and also the circumstances in which we give. If we give a little to many, we help more people but make a smaller impact on each. The opposite if we give a lot to one. There may be times when you feel particularly strong concern for one individual, or feel that he or she is in greater need — it would make sense to give all your spare cash to that person.
Ideally though, we should help people to help themselves. And there are times when showing an interest in the person’s life, an affirmation of the person’s worth, will make a greater impact than money.
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Yes, as I said before, I thought this young man was looking for a handup rather than a handout. Thanks for reading and commenting
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I think I’d rather give a little and make someone happy as well as feeling happy myself. Good on you for stopping to talk to the young man, I’m not sure I would have done that. Not sure why.
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Thanks Val. I’m not sure just why I stopped and talked to him. He seemed to be a nice young man, down on his luck. Thanks for subscribing to my blog.
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I dropped by thanks to reading another blog where you were mentioned – Writings from Ecuador? Anyway, I think it mentioned you and that you are in Wellington?
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I think that stopping to talk to him was a gift in itself!
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