PHILAN- PHILANTHROPY
THE HUMAN CONDITION OR CONDITIONAL HUMANS?
In a time when moral bankruptcy is rife and the bottom line seems all important, G Patrick Gruhn asks, isnÕ t it time we stopped, took pause and asked ourselves Ô ShouldnÕ t we be loving our neighbours?Õ
WHEN WALKING IN THE STREET, READING THE news or watching TV, do you ever wonder why people are poor? Why people don’t have the opportunities in life to do well for themselves, to live comfortably or even be wealthy? Why do some people have their own, private jets and others don’t even have a home to sleep in? The gap between the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich has become so much more pronounced, particularly over the last 20 or 30 years. For example, only 100 years ago, aspirations were set much lower - owning a car and a house were more of a concern than generating massive wealth. Media had a very small role at the time; besides newspapers there was very little information available and consumerism was a twinkle in the eye of the few.
Compare that with today! The aspirations and status symbols created by the modern market economy are so substantial that they appear unattainalbe for 99% of the world’s population. From fast cars, spangly gadgets, planes and yachts, anything and everything is available at a price. Armies of marketing execs exploit every angle to get us to desire and need these things. Granted, that’s a healthy model from the point of view of a free market capitalist yet, at the same time, totally unacceptable for a communist. This goes well beyond the theory of fixing a problem or closing a gap, it’s just time we all began to think about what it is we are doing with our lives, with our time and
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how we can help the world with our own skill set. This is, of course, all relative - if, for example, you are a billionaire you are more able to help financially; as a spiritual person you can work on a direct level, giving your own time and effort to make things better. In politics, you can use your reach, your influence to lead your peers to a better tomorrow. Of course there are obstacles because this world is marred by selfishness and, the higher up the chain you go, the more greed and lack of compassion you will find. That shouldn’t hinder you doing what is necessary, to do what is right, to make a difference. If you can help a single human being you are already doing more than most and the more you do, the more you distinguish yourself from the petty masses who only care about themselves and their personal forthcomings.
Why not help an old lady cross the street? Stand up for a pregnant woman on the bus? Buy an ice cream for a child on the street? Just the other day I heard someone say, ‘a closed hand will not receive anything’. The meaning of the phrase touched me deeply - an open hand, offering everything that it holds, will also receive – and usually that hand will receive much more than what was in it to begin with. I’m not pursuing this thought from any religious angles as I’m not a great believer but there are a few great religious teachings about compassion and it strikes me that in this modern world they are easily forgotten.
THE -ELEVATOR.COM THE -ELEVATOR.COM
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