Why You Can’t Give
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I possess a heart that murmurs with the pains of others. You’re probably much the same way. A friend needs money to pursue a dream, a family member attempts to study abroad or a person you recently met is jobless. It hurts. It hurts to think of what others cannot do with a shortage of money. Of course our mind drifts away from the pain of others to focus on the needs of “I.”
I’m not saying this is the only way to aid a murmuring heart but it worked for me.
I started to look at my life as a business and act accordingly. If I want to give, do I have something to give? Easy answer to that one, “yes.” The easy thought when the word giving is mentioned is the debit card in your pocket but what about time or talents? Think about that for a second: You want to give. Can your want be fulfilled? Do you have inventory to give?
A few weeks back my wife ordered something from Amazon. She is an incredible online shopper, fierce and vigilant. The mouse becomes her willing butler taking her from site to site. She finally found what she wanted and Amazon had the best price and shipping costs. She places the order and tells me later when I return home from work.
I told her job well done and that was it. About a week later, I asked her about the purchase she made. As soon as I said something she began to tell me how frustrated she was with a certain vendor from Amazon. I was surprised because we buy from Amazon frequently.
She went on to tell me how she emailed the vendor discovered they were out of stock. Apparently they waited almost a week to tell her they were out of stock. My wife’s frustration builds and that’s when I come to the rescue and hand her a bar of 85% dark chocolate, give her a passionate “Notebook’esque” kiss and tell her everything is ok.
Are you trying to give something when you don’t have it in stock to give?
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5 Comments
journeytoepiphany
09.04.2011
What a poignant question. I have done that many times in my life. Mostly in the matter of time. The only thing it really does is frustrate me, or frustrate the person I promised something to…not exactly the effect I was looking for. I guess its time to bring out an old axiom, “You can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip.”
timmyboi05
09.05.2011
This article really hit home for me. I’ve lost many people over the years, people I’ve cared for dearly, and some I barely knew. I feel like God put this intense love inside me and I’ve always had such a strong desire to do anything for my friends and people that I’ve met in life. It’s caused a lot of pain thought, because people take advantage of that, so it’s easy to get bitter and shut down so I don’t get close to people, because I’m afraid that if I let myself care about someone then I’ll most likely get hurt again. At this point, I’m trying to learn the difference between being a good, caring person while recognizing what’s too much, because I have a hard time drawing the line. And I’ve noticed that many people are fine with my capacity to give, but in the end they can’t handle my capacity to love. At this moment, again I find myself on the verge of losing yet another friend because I don’t know if I’m being used, or if I’m just afraid to get closer so I don’t go through the same pain of losing another. I’ve just given so much though, and she is jobless and has little to offer, and has a son that I wish I could just take home and get him away from all that chaos. And the truth is, I really don’t have it to give, but I can’t help myself at times, and I end up facing the consequences ultimately. I just hope it works out, because my empathy for this family is so strong I couldn’t bare for them to suffer any more tragedy.
@PagingDrVictor
09.05.2011
So interesting, isn’t it? I like that you say you run your life like a business because that’s really what it is when it comes to expenditures. It’s better to not give anything you don’t have than to be “clouds and wind that bring no rain.”
ThompsonWrites
09.06.2011
Thx for stopping by. great to hear your thoughts.
ThompsonWrites
09.06.2011
good words victor, great pictures.
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