Share Or Die: But How Much Are We Willing To Share?

  In an essay written by Hanna Brencher she talks about doing volunteer work after college at a time when jobs are hard to find and money is hard to come by. She shares an entire year of herself  devoting her time to helping others. Is this absurd? How can she survive on such little money and devote most of her time to simply helping someone else for a whole year?

                                                     photo credit: PMT.CR via photopin cc




  Well I believe what Hanna did wasn't simple at all, not simple minded at least. I think sometimes it takes thinking outside the box to really achieve what we want to achieve and in doing that sometimes we may even learn something new that we weren't even trying to learn. And believe it or not we can get by on a lot less than we may think.

                                               photo credit: Canned Muffins via photopin cc


  But do we share enough? I mean how much of our time, or money, or our hearts, or even our home are we willing to share with others? Some of us may use excuses like we just don't have the time in this fast pace world we live in to take the time out of our own lives to do volunteer work. Some of us may drop a dollar in a cup outside of a Wal-Mart around the holidays but are we so willing to give our day to the homeless by serving in a soup kitchen on Christmas morning or by opening our home to someone who is cold? Human beings are tribal. We naturally tend to worry more about our own family and friends first. But that it no excuse for selfishness.

                                               photo credit: twenty_questions via photopin


                            
  I believe in a simpler time people may have been more eager to share with others. Maybe people were less judgemental and maybe people trusted people more and were less afraid to open their door to a stranger or devote their time to a friend. But I say that today technology has provided us with a new way to share, the internet. We can do so much with the internet, a technology that once did not exist. As long as we use it mindfully it is a good way to share. We can use it to share our thoughts with others who may need them to help them think differently. We can use it to share photos and videos with our family and friends. And we can take the time to teach these methods to others who may not know how to use them. Though the american dream is wrapped around money, helping others can be much more satisfying.

                                        photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography via photopin cc