Why is there joy in giving?
Why poor people are always champions in helping others like them?
Seven years ago, when our son was almost four, few weeks before Christmas, my wife and I thought it was about time for him to learn how to share. Living in Transylvania, in the city of Cluj-Napoca, it wasn’t difficult for us to find a child that would be suitable to receive a gift for Christmas.
So we went to “Pata Rat” or the city dump area, where we found a gypsy child playing barefoot in the icy snow. Luca gave him the nicely wrapped shoebox and we left.
I said to myself “This is it. I hope he learned something today”.
Two weeks later, we went for the kindergarten end-of-year play and all the parents assaulted us to tell them more about our “organization”, our “project”, they wanted to be a part of it. We were stunned: there was no project, there was no charity organization. It was just us, trying to teach our son a lesson about sharing. And what a lesson this has been!
Turns out he went to kindergarten next day and told the children what he did. They went home to tell their parents and now all the parents wanted to get involved.
So next year we used what was available back in 2008 to advertise or project: Yahoo Messenger statuses. We managed to gather 512 boxes in one city alone: Cluj Napoca.
Six years and thousands of boxes later, in 2012 we managed to have 20 cities in Romania joining our project and 23 locations. For 2013 we already have 3 more locations in Romania ready to join and 2 in diaspora: Belgium and Republic of Moldova.
Looking back, can surely say that there is much joy in giving. There’s a feeling of drug-addition-like state that engulfs all donors. You can feel it in their words, you can read it in their eyes when they ask questions and take pictures of the boxes being brought to the collection centers.
I was able to talk to hundreds of people every year, rich and poor. When they have a lot they feel a sense of achievement and need recognition. When they have few things, they are ready to give much more than they have.
I will never understand this paradox: how can a poor person give more and without the very notion of being sorry he gave; and how can a rich person be so reluctant in offering their help?
What do you think is the reason behind this? Do poor people really feel they have nothing to lose and give without reservations? Do rich people really feel that if they share, they will perish in poverty?
When does the egoism start and there is no more sharing? At what point in one’s life you have enough and you stop being ready to share?
I want in 2013 to be surrounded by people ready to share, not poor, not rich, just ready to help others.
Do you want to help?
