Habits,
behaviours,
and values
are formed by
decisions
made
in the moment,
every day.
Spontaneous,
at times, but
more often
pondered
or planned,
decisions are
an essential
part of our being.
The decisions
you make
eventually
will make you.
Make
the right
decision.
Think about it.
11/30/2018 j.g.l.
Satisfaction:
you only know it
when you find it.
It is illusive,
only because what
you think you want
is not always there,
and might
never have been.
11/29/2018 j.g.l.
We are entering the season of giving and, with that, increased annual charitable appeals.
Wherever we are, in all directions, we can look around our communities and see the obvious needs, in so many forms. Society is best measured in how we care for those who cannot care for themselves, and we respond with our time or money.
It is both admirable and appreciated how we give and to which causes, organizations and issues. A contribution is the match that lights a candle and allows hope to burn and radiate. Enjoy the glow. Feel the warmth. Share the light.
I’m humbled to say I give when I can, consistently. I give selflessly and without expectation. It is a value I treasure; a practice I learned and saw demonstrated by my parents. We were fortunate. I was fortunate to have learned this lesson early in life.
Charity. Empathy. Dignity. Respect.
I’ve taken on causes, supported groups and issues, and have seen the results of my giving. I have appreciated being part of a group whom, many times, I had little in common with except we all saw the worth in giving our time or money. That was my reward; seeing some results.
Charity is a wonderful thing.
I was recently notified of the launch of an annual corporate giving campaign I have belonged to for years. We all know a large workforce can raise a great deal of money, very quickly, through focused application. It is a good thing to give as a group.
But what happens when a campaign begins to seem less about giving and supporting a community, and more about promotion of a corporate entity and the benefits it provides within that community?
The emphasis is less about the good it does, and more about being good for business.
A corporation and its attempts to foster giving, to encourage philanthropy, is to be respected.
Charity is a good thing, but the moment it turns into a “look at me” or “look at us” initiative, the lustre is scratched off the patina. Charity should be felt, acknowledged, and furthered, yet a certain value is lost when an initiative or endeavor becomes boastful.
The expectation of recognition, even gratitude, for a donation negates the true purpose of charity. True charity is anonymous.
Silent charity is self-sustaining. It does not require promotion, endless reminders, or pressure. It is organic; both giver and receiver benefit. Charity is a personal thing.
Personally, I can’t support an appeal where the larger focus is on something less than the act of helping fellow human beings. When a charitable act becomes a number, sum, or price tag, the humanity is removed from the equation.
I don’t expect anything from a donation, other than feeling or knowing my contribution helps further a cause or group I believe in. I will contribute to give in my own silent way, each year contributing a little more than the year before, and I will do it directly. I simply, morally, or comfortably cannot support something that makes the giver a bigger focus than the giving.
I encourage you to look at where your charity flows.
Give. Oh yes, give; consciously; as generously as you are able, and as humanely as possible. Enjoy the spirit of giving, and enjoy it selflessly.
© 2018 j.g. lewis
“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.”
-Maya Angelou
It begins with a breath,
a footstep, or an idea.
The end is neither
in sight nor possible,
right now.
The start is shaky, the
morning is weak, yet
intention is everything.
So much to see, even
more to know, but
nothing to prove.
Not yet, or not ever.
To begin is enough
for now.
11/27/2018 j.g.l.
I spent some time over the past couple of weekends trying to put an office into order. It’s a terribly comfortable place to sit and write (sunlit room with an amazing ergo chair), but sometimes I become too accustomed to the mess that accumulates around me.
I like to know where everything is, and believe it is always within reach. Most of the time it is never where I want it when I need it.
So, this was a meaningful attempt to clear clutter from the desktop and remove excess material from the shelves. There were plenty of well-used journals, books I’ve read but once, and the ones I have yet to get around to. Then there are those scraps of paper, or ideas, I have not done anything with. Important, yes, but there they sit. They take up space.
It takes time to collect and a lot of waiting to determine the value of things which seemed crucial, or interesting, upon acquisition. Months, or years, later you have to decide whether to discard, put back on the shelf, or in a drawer (out of sight, out of mind).
I can be a hoarder, mostly of memories, of little things deemed of sentimental value. I see worth slightly more than purpose.
I’ve tried to put things back on the right shelf, or into a space they can sit purposefully until useful.
Sadly, the order will not remain as it is, or as it should be. I’m sure.
Knowing myself as well as I do (or care to admit), this attempt at organization will go off the tracks as it usually does. In the process I may have discovered a thing or two, perhaps, or made a deeper promise to myself to become more orderly. But, surely soon I will be seduced by a new concept, an easier method, or a time-saving alternative.
Still I try to become more organized; order is the least I can ask of myself.
11/26/2018 j.g.l.
I’m like a pencil;
sometimes sharp,
most days
well-rounded,
other times
dull or
occasionally
broken.
Still I write.
j.g. lewis
is a writer/photographer in Toronto.