Give to the homeless and you are enabling and causing crime to rise.
Don't give and you are selfish and greedy.
Stand up for what you believe in and your a bigot, racist, prejudice, or old fashioned.
Don't stand up for what you believe in and you're a coward.
I am part of a neighborhood watch Facebook page. If you ever really want to get paranoid join a neighborhood watch page.
Recently there has been a lot of chatter about panhandlers and some with very questionable motives and backgrounds. I will be honest; I often find myself quite conflicted when it comes to giving to someone on the streets.
On that group someone recently posted about how she was disgusted by the lady using her kids to ask for money as she sat there with her freshly done nails.
Many jumped on agreeing how awful that was and the other half said maybe a beauty school did her nails for free, etc. etc.
Back and forth.
Another person later posted this amazing story going around Facebook of a man who saw a homeless man digging through the garbage and he felt like he should offer to buy him some food. As he began talking with this man he discovered that he had been living on the streets since his father passed away a year ago and he actually had an enormous tumor growing in his stomach. The story ends with several doctors reaching out to offer to operate for free. Just a feel good moment.
Then the comments started coming in:
"When you give, give in secret."
"I bet this guy is patting himself on the back for all of the attention he is getting now."
After that one I just couldn't stay quiet.
"Yes," I told him, "he might be patting himself on the back; but maybe not. Who are we to judge his intentions?"
I went on to say it is hard, as yes you shouldn't be broadcasting your good deeds; yet these moments like this, these moments that show the good in society; well the news surely isn't reporting them and so if no one shares, then we will just see all of the bad, all of the problems, and will begin to believe that is all there is.
It is human nature to see what you believe. If you believe you always get stopped at the red lights, you are not going to notice the green lights you make, but only notice the times you get stopped at the red lights.
So let's flood the internet with good, with hope and inspiration. Let's flood our feeds with happiness and kindness. If people start to think and believe that overall people are good and want to help, then they will notice the good, which will help them spread good themselves even further.
And let's give each other a break when we do so; no judgment needed.
Why can't we all just try to see the good in each other?
Let's flood the earth with good and light.
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Linking with Shell's PYHO
I so love this...like you, I believe the good needs to be showcased way more than the bed. There is still SO much good in this world
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the good in the world needs to be talked about, celebrated, shared, and especially emulated. There is too much negativity and if we could all just be a little kinder, we would all be better off.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, yes! There's criticism of everything lately. Do it all with good intentions and don't worry about the rest.
ReplyDeleteI just love you, Emmy! Yes, let's flood the world with goodness and light and acceptance! This post needs to be one of your best of the blogosphere posts, it is that good!
ReplyDelete