Someone a little nicer

Why giving matters December 12, 2011

Well hello again, and could there be a more appropriate time of year to be reviving this blog I am so fond of?

The season of giving indeed (unless you’re waiting for someone to vacate a parking space in which case you’ll see there are plenty of others – with faster foot action on the accelerator – who are willing to take).

After much pondering on the political, social and economic upheaval of this most topsy turvy year I had already begun to dust off this neglected site and start planning some more forays into acts of kindness. You’ll be reading more on this very shortly.

In the meantime I spotted and had to share an article from the Huffington Post* which begins with a simple statement whose truth hit me with all the force of something familiar and yet forgotten: money doesn’t bring happiness; giving does. And that’s official.

What I love most about this article is its examples, which really drive home relative value: amongst a whole lot of Xmas spending I could but won’t share with you I recently paid £19.99 for a tea towel for a dear friend. (I know, I know: there is so much wrong with this statement I hardly know where to start. A tea towel? For a Xmas present? And one costing twenty quid; yee gods. In my defence it is shocking pink, and carries a hand-drawn picture of a place that is special to us both. Plus it’s great fun and will be a talking point in her kitchen. Still – a TEA TOWEL?)

Never mind the wisdom of my choice; you can leave me to rescue the friendship. The point I want to make – and which Michaela Haas makes so well in her post – is that the £10-20 I routinely spend on each of my friends at this time of year could fund two years of education for someone in India, or provide the materials for someone to start their own business, become self sufficient, and entirely transform lives.

I love giving gifts. I even like getting them. But I’m grateful for the reminder that there are a few friends – whose names I don’t even know – who I’ve forgotten to add to my gift list.

As for any friends whose names are on the list and who happen to be reading this, apologies in advance if when you tear the paper on Xmas day you’ve got the tea towel. It really isn’t just any other tea towel you know….

* I’ve obviously been away too long as every attempt to embed the link to the article has failed. So while I investigate whether I need to upgrade software or whatever, I have to ask you to cut and paste this into your browser to read said article

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michaela-haas/charity-education-girls_b_1136700.html