The charity of time given

Time is money they say, but more importantly than that, it is a non renewable resource that is required to do anything. Time given is a valuable gift and what many people don't recognise when giving to charity, that money itself is a representation of time spent. If I give 100 euros to charity, all the time taken to earn that 100 euros is contained in that donation. This is not only the time taken at work to earn it, but all of the time taken to be able to be in that work to earn it.

Lately, my own time is under a massive strain as I have several life responsibilities that require attention which means when it comes to 'free' time, something I have near zero of, I use it the best I can. When it comes to Steem, this is both work and pleasure for me so there is very little chance of separation between. I think I am pretty generous with my time here though and spend a great deal of it answering comments, replying to others as well as producing my own content.

However, I do think that I am going to have to become a little stricter with things to some degree and where I think this will be is in the engagement with people who resort to personal attacks. It just takes too much time to argue with people like that and like I wrote yesterday, the internet is full of them.

What I find interesting is that these people don't seem to recognise that giving time is a charity, it is a generosity that does not need to be given at all. Yet, they are essentially ungrateful for that gift while there are others that could partake in a decent discussion even without being in agreement and value the time provided.

Being charitable with ones time is rare these days as just about everyone who is actively living a life is under various pressures and with other pressures forcing some decisions, time given tends to lean towards what will satisfy personal goals of meeting obligations.

As I have said before often enough, the time I spend writing is for me to get my thoughts out and develop myself and perhaps it will also bring value to others who read it. If they happen to be having similar issues or, if considering something I might approach has value for them, we can all save some time by discussing it together and perhaps also, benefit and improve so later we can save some more time.

The time I spend in comments is for a similar purpose where there is an approach of mutual benefit to participants but, if I feel that is not happening, I am going to disengage and this will be near immediate with personal attacks. I have heard it all in my 39 years of life, there is not many more names someone can call me and bring value to the conversation which means, my time can be better spent elsewhere and most likely, so could theirs.

There is value in disagreement and the discussions surrounding it but the conversation itself requires time and maturity to engage well and find solution. The immaturity of personal attack does nothing except indicate that the person attacking is incapable of holding the discussion.

People seem to use challenge as a way to engage but in my opinion, that is not a conducive beginning to a fruitful conversation that will effectively and efficiently lead anywhere, all it does is create more barriers. The interesting thing is that once those bridges of time charity are burned, there is very little chance to rebuild them, especially on the internet.

Trolls can keep trolling of course but again, this shows their own desperation and desire for attention and inability to effectively use their own time to do anything of value. Just another play to satisfy their egos. Blocking, ignoring, muting etc goes some way but, not caring goes all the way.

Giving time to people is an act of caring and although there can be reciprocity in it, there is still generosity in the act. Being generous is more than giving money, it is taking the effort to provide resource for others and when that resource is a non-renewable with a very high opportunity/cost, gratitude by being charitable in discussion should be the standard response.

Unfortunately however, grace is no longer a trait that most hold in a society of people who feel they are entitled to shout and scream and demand and expect to be listened to. They scream into their keyboards and feel that it is their right to be heard.

No, free speech allows you to speak your mind, it doesn't grant an audience nor does it justify your words or approach.

The consequences of being unable to discuss well and be charitable with the words of others is generally one of loneliness, bitterness and isolation which often leads to more screaming and attention seeking behaviour. And the spiral down the slippery slope to irrelevance speeds up.

You might disagree with my appraisals of life, you may think me a fool but, these are my experiences and judgments of them and yours are yours. You might be the smartest person in the world and know it all but, if people are no longer willing to offer you the generosity of their time and their ear to listen due to your behaviours and how you treat them, what is the point of your knowledge? It just becomes another ego boost except this time, it is a self-circlejerk pat on the back. Totally devoid of utility.

In my opinion, I am very open to criticism and generous with my time as it helps me improve myself but, there is a limit on where time is well spent and where it is wasted. I have wasted enough time in my life to continue wasting it on what is knowingly useless. So, just like me not reading the news or consuming large amounts of passive entertainment, I will spend less energy engaging in useless conversations where one side is only looking to feed their ego.

I have more important things to do with my time.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]