Charity!?!?
So...bear with me here, this might get a little "meta". Probably not.
I've been thinking about a lot of things recently but there's one thought that seems to be re-circulating through my mind more so than others. Its this thought of "helping". We live in a VERY adversarial country. We are by and far the most litigous nation in the world, as evident by our attorneys/lawyers per capita ratio. Its really quite sickening. In Japan, they have a culture of contemplation and cooperation and give and take when it comes to conflict. We have a give and take notion here too, but its more of "you give me that, and I'll take it from you." Here in the United States, if we have a problem, yo' ass gets sued. Really, that simple. This whole culture of conflict really makes me quite ill. Now, bring that back to aforementioned thoughts of "helping". I really feel like I haven't given back to the community, or even to the world with what I do in my life and I've really been wanting to contribute somehow. I've been thinking pretty heavily about things like Projects Abroad, or even the Peace Corps, because I want to help! Its funny; I've never really felt this way before. I don't think that I'm necessarily turning over the proverbial "new leaf," just because I think the "leaf" has always been there, I just haven't noticed it before. Maybe its something that comes with age, or the Goji juice, or just my inner-flower child peeking out at the world. I've got so much that I can give, and really, I'm excited to do so when my life allows.
Word.
I've been thinking about a lot of things recently but there's one thought that seems to be re-circulating through my mind more so than others. Its this thought of "helping". We live in a VERY adversarial country. We are by and far the most litigous nation in the world, as evident by our attorneys/lawyers per capita ratio. Its really quite sickening. In Japan, they have a culture of contemplation and cooperation and give and take when it comes to conflict. We have a give and take notion here too, but its more of "you give me that, and I'll take it from you." Here in the United States, if we have a problem, yo' ass gets sued. Really, that simple. This whole culture of conflict really makes me quite ill. Now, bring that back to aforementioned thoughts of "helping". I really feel like I haven't given back to the community, or even to the world with what I do in my life and I've really been wanting to contribute somehow. I've been thinking pretty heavily about things like Projects Abroad, or even the Peace Corps, because I want to help! Its funny; I've never really felt this way before. I don't think that I'm necessarily turning over the proverbial "new leaf," just because I think the "leaf" has always been there, I just haven't noticed it before. Maybe its something that comes with age, or the Goji juice, or just my inner-flower child peeking out at the world. I've got so much that I can give, and really, I'm excited to do so when my life allows.
Word.