RE: All of Me
Ah, I love this! Thank you. :)
Yes, I do have a desire to be a philanthropist on some level, but I also see the folly in just "giving." I know, it doesn't work. It has been shown to not work. Sustainable development and local businesses seem like the most successful approach when it comes to helping in developing countries.
What you're describing about focusing on ourselves first is very similar to my post from about 5 months ago: How to Improve the World. I think when we're a bit broken, we attract broken people. When we're not only fixed but overflowing with love, joy, inspiration, activity, action and more, we not only attract that to ourselves, but we spread it around also.
One of my favorite examples of how I'd like to help improve the world is shown in this documentary:
Billionaires using their money to invent things to improve the world. How cool is that!
...what I hear you saying is that people like us who are awake, and first world privileged, that we are morally responsible to try and directly use our gains (mentally, financially, or somehow) to pull others up from the bottom. Or at least that you personally feel this way... That those on the bottom of the Socio economic ladder don't have the means to lift themselves, like we do, and therefore must be rescued.
I do have a bit of the "Jesus complex" (or savior complex) which is probably a hold over from my upbringing in a Christian worldview. That said, I don't think others need to be rescued or that they can't do things on their own. Instead, from a moral / ethical perspective, I think of it from the Veil of Ignorance perspective. How would I like things to be structured if I happened to born as others without my privilege? What responsibility does that create for me?
Example: tonight our family had a fantastic dinner of sushi and more that cost us $100. That's a tremendous amount of money to spend for one family for one meal for many in the world. I don't feel guilty about that, but if I happened to be born in a different country, striving for daily food and clean water, I'd at least want to know that person recognizes the inequalities in the world and cares enough to see if something can be done to improve things.
We are on the same page. 🙏🏽 Your post from 5 months ago was awesome, and I'm glad you referenced that above. I was not active here five months ago so I had missed it. Oh, and then the video…! I knew none of that, but wow I will have a new appreciation for those nasty looking little 5 hour energy drinks I see on the counter at the gas station. That guy is a genius,and such a great heart to want to help the world ! And, Sean will totally want one of those bicycle generators ;-)
That bike would be good for kids too, right? "You guys want your electronic devices? Go pedal for an hour first so they will be powered!" 🤣👍🏽
Sean and I are doing some philanthropic and business ventures where one of the main intentions behind them is just to help others see themselves more clearly. Our yoga center for example… that's a labor of love and we hope to make life just a little better for thousands of folks that come through there. Oddly, I am less comfortable talking about actual things we do like that then blathering on about my own personal struggles and insights, because I am only starting to gain comfort with a sense of personal empowerment. I'm shifting more towards neutral though to where I can aknowledge both my darkness and my light. It's a process and that's progress.
I have not heard of the concept of the veil of ignorance either, but that's very helpful. The veil notion saves us from projecting our judgments and stories on others who may need help. Like even sometimes when when we want to help the poor or the downtrodden our ego judgments get triggered into "ya, but they made bad decisions and don't deserve…" then we hold back.
Thanks for engaging in dialogue with me 🙏🏽
I love what you are doing with the Yoga center. To me, that's a perfect an example of an enterprise with multiple levels of benefit for everyone involved.
Thank you also. I always enjoy our conversations!