Just a Click

evernoticethat in #life • last year (edited)

Yesterday I was surfing around Hive for something to read and came across a post by a young farmer from the Philippines. He shared about how he was trying to scratch a living in a quiet little corner of his beautiful country. I reblogged his post but wished I could have done much more.

This is why I've always dreamed since I was a kid of becoming a billionaire and spending the rest of my life giving most of it away to deserving people out there in this big, but sometimes troubled world.

I'd drop in on Hive posts (many whose authors live in developing countries), read their stories, and with a click of the mouse, just drop them 10,000 HIVE. That could make a big difference in far-flung corners of the globe, where in some areas the annual salary equals roughly a dollar a day.

So a "little bit" can go a long way.

This has echoes of the post I wrote yesterday about Legacy, and wanting to leave a positive wake behind me when I shuffle of this mortal coil. So my message to readers is to do as much good as you can because you never know when your time is up.

Part of this also stems from learning about the sudden death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at 47. Seeing his gaunt appearance in his last video and reading that he was limited to just one loaf of bread per month birthed a thought: DAMN! Why did he return?

I remember discussing him with my Russian classmates, and the other guy who was murdered on a bridge. Nobody should die that young, but he preferred to return and fight rather than enjoy a comfortable exile in the west as others have done.

And that's when you realize you want to do something rather than just taking up space on the globe to live out what you truly believe in.

You may not be able to do big things, but every small act of kindness helps. So while I can't drop 10K HIVE here and there (at least not YET :), I can highlight a post so that it gets the exposure that it deserves. If we all do that one little thing, they will all add up something of consequence when needed the most.

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#kindness #farmer #alexei-navalny #neoxian #archon #gems

last year in #life by evernoticethat

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faeriestories last year

This is the kind of thing I try and do, too. I don't have a lot of power/money/authority/whatever, but I try and do a little good where I can. If everyone did that, it would compound!
!LUV

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evernoticethat last year

Right? I see it as our way of "paying the rent" for living in this amazing world. And since I came from a very poor family, I know what it is to want and not have. So I try to lighten the loads of deserving people wherever I can.

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luvshares last year

evernoticethat, faeriestories sent you LUV. 🙂 _(1/1) tools | trade | connect | daily

Made with LUV by crrdlx.

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builderofcastles last year

And this is why you will never have 10k hive.

Let me try to explain that. I probably won't succeed, so don't take it as an assault on you, this has to do with how the universe works, and how to actually help someone, and how to stop thinking poor, and start thinking rich.

You'ld just like to "drop 10,000 HIVE"
I know in dollar terms, that isn't much, but in HIVE terms that is a lot. That would instantly make you a dolphin if you powered up. Here, 1,000 HIVE is a lot. It is actually the first big step in being able to decide who and how much to vote for people. It is a really big deal to get there. Would you deny someone the journey, the enjoyment of getting to that first major milestone? You better make sure you aren't destroying someone's dream by dropping them some HIVE.

If you had a million HIVE, you could do this 100 times. Dropping 10k. Is 100 times actually a big number? we have 8 billion people on the planet. Dropping on only 100 can really seem unfair. How will you choose who to help, and who not to help?

Lottery winners are almost always less happy, and broker they were than when they won. Money does not solve their problems, nor does it make them rich. So, you really need to make sure that the person you are dropping upon can accept that help. If you drop on a heroine addict, you are basically killing the person.

In our world, there are endless possibilities, even with all these people suffering from lack. There is plenty of money. SOOOOOO much money. More money will not help. But getting your mindset changed so that you can see the opportunity and capitalize upon it is almost the whole of the journey. Or just getting to the starting line.

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3 votes

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evernoticethat last year (edited)

Thanks so much for your considered response. I understand you completely, but the 10K was just an arbitrary number when I was trying to decide how much might make a difference to a struggling farmer in a developing country. In this fantasy, it also assumed that I was a billionaire, and that I'd already have a huge bag and that helping someone with some HIVE wouldn't empty my coffers.

My account at its peak was actually getting there before I had to liquidate it to help an ill relative, the matriarch of our family. I'm the responsible one in a family full of drug addicts, and do what I can to protect my relative from these leeches that tended to prey on her in her golden years.

Understand that I come from nothing. 5 kids raised by a single mom (from 4 different men), none of whom ever married her, leaving her to foot all the expenses of raising those kids.

We never had enough food, and at one point only had butter and starch to eat (I kid you not). My mother spent what little money she had on cigarettes, booze and yes, lottery tickets. She'd force us to sell seeds or greeting cards as little kids door-to-door, and then spend the proceeds on those things. So believe me, I know what irresponsible people can do with their money.

My mother had planned to put me up for adoption when I was born. She was to give me away to my aunt (the one I'm helping), and I would have grown up thinking my mother was my aunt, and my aunt was my mother.

Can you imagine?

She refused to apply for welfare or any type of assistance, and we were only saved when my empty stomach loudly growled when I was called upon to stand and read a verse from The Bible during a church service. We weren't allowed to tell anyone we were short of food, but the eagle-eyed female pastor knew what she was seeing and sent loads of food to our house and warned my mother not to beat her 10-year-old son for telling her.

The pastor also demanded that my mother sign up for welfare telling her "even if you're too proud for it, these kids shouldn't suffer" and that if she didn't, she'd have the kids taken away from her. She introduced her to an amazing social worker who while we lived in that city, helped to turn things around for us.

She always told us that she wanted more money, but when I got older, I told her that if she had a lot of money, she'd just buy more booze, cigs and lottery tickets. Roughly 3 times a year, she'd "hit" on the lottery and win a few hundred bucks. She'd win say $1000 per year, but would spend more than 3K in the process, always chasing losses. She's still the same to this day, I had to move out to avoid throwing money into a black hole with her.

So believe me, I know.

When you grow up always hungry and dreaming of food, you don't ever want to go through that again or ever see another child go through that either. And I get what you saying here when you wrote:

If you had a million HIVE, you could do this 100 times. Dropping 10k. Is 100 times actually a big number? we have 8 billion people on the planet. Dropping on only 100 can really seem unfair. How will you choose who to help, and who not to help?

I'm reminded of an old tale of a man walking along the beach. A stranger sees him walking up to starfish stranded by the waves, picking them up and placing them back into the ocean. One after another he keeps doing this and the stranger says "Why are you helping these starfish? There must be millions of them on beaches all over the world. So what you're doing won't matter as it can't possibly make a dent in the population." The man bent down to save another starfish and said, "It matters to this one."

And that's where I'm coming from. I never forgot those nights of going to bed with an empty, painful, grumbling stomach. No, we can't save everybody, and there must be a thoughtful vetting process. But if I became a billionaire, I would not ever want to hog all of that money to myself and not make a difference in someones life.

I had a choice. I could help my elderly aunt or be selfish and grow my account on Hive. I made the right choice for a woman who was more a mother to me than my actual mom was. Now we return to (hopefully) growing on Hive. :)

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2 votes

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depressedfuckup last year

I'm sorry you had tog o through that, man. That sounds traumatizing to say the least.

I would also like to just say that both you and builderofcastles have made very solid cases. I understand you both, and I think you're both right, looking at it from different POVs.

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evernoticethat last year

I couldn't agree more. I think he made some very valid points as did I. And as you said, it all starts with perspective. That's what I like about civil discourse, both sides can learn from each other. :)

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builderofcastles last year

Yep. I often think it is better to show up with boxes of food then to ever give money.
Solve the real problem, don't throw money at it.

But, we are taught from the TV, and much of our life, that money is the solution.
All the govern-cement does is throw money at problems. Which makes their friends rich, and doesn't help the people who need help at all.

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builderofcastles last year

I understand this position all too well.

I also understand things from a higher point now too.

Thinking about solutions to homelessness and hunger. Being at soup kitchens and such gives you a whole different perspective. These people do not need money. Most don't even understand money, or budgeting for a month. They need help. Real help. And i don't think any govern-cement is set up to offer help.

Anyway, trying to help someone, you have to find someone who is already trying, and then give them a little boost. And that is really hard.

I am glad you made it through your life.

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