The Selfishness Knocking
Have you ever had your selfishness knock on your front door?
I have. Twice a day. Sometimes late at night.
My selfishness is a 60-something, partially blind, hard-to-understand, poor black man. At some point, my roommates made a deal with him that if he mows the lawn we will pay him now and again.
But, whether paid or not, he still comes around, asking for money. He comes at all hours. He comes right after dinner, right when I lay down for bed, and at 1 in the morning.
Finally, frustrated at the untimely interruptions to my important life (such as my 33rd viewing of The Matrix,) I gave him an earful.
And, as soon as I closed the door, it struck me that I was a self-proclaimed humanitarian.
What was I thinking?!
This guy needed help. He was in a tough situation. Heck, some day my dad, or mom, or brother could be in that situation. And what’s worse, when I was in a similar situation as a kid, I always wished someone would just care.
I should help. I could not believe the dissonance I was experiencing.
This is the face of my awareness of my own selfishness; a cataract strewn, cross-eyed, illiterate black man.
Then, a final thought struck icy pins in my heart: If he were Haitian, would I care more? If he were a recipient of the development work we do with CPI, would I be moved by compassion, not inconvenience?
Humanitarianism, philanthropia, is not a career we work, a job we show up for Monday through Friday. It must be our way of life. Until it is, we will miss our chance to create a world of philanthropia because we will be missing the need next door.
We should take the time to see the need right around us.
Take note of who is your missons field today. Your neighborhood, your street, is the place for philanthropia. It is the start of an explosive life of significance. Now, to deal with that selfishness…
Grant R. Nieddu
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Grant Nieddu works with CPIHaiti, Community Partnerships International, a 501(c)3 doing transformational development work in Chauffard, Haiti. State of the Spark is his way of spreading philanthropia and helping people Spark their Vision for life, Ignited their Success, and Explode their Significance through personal coaching, training and development, and public speaking.###
photo by Trishhhh
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