Last night when reading the board I ran across a post of a father being, rightly so, being disappointed that he would not be able to take his son to a U-M father/son camp due to the increased cost.
Since that time I have had to think about my own values and have still not settled on what I think is the right thing but wanted to share some of them.
First reaction was one of sympathy. Knowing the son would be missing out on something that was important to him. When I saw all the responses with an offer to pay and/or contribute I was among other things 1) happy that the young man would be able to go and share the memory with his dad; 2) disappointed in myself that I did not have the same sense of giving; 3) truly impressed with all the people that offered to donate (esp. John who also offered to coordinate) and proud to be part of the Michigan family that displays this generosity; and 4) a sense of unease.
The sense of unease was purely judgement on myself. While I have been blessed with many opportunities in my life and extremely grateful for them. I do not feel I have given back enough. Although I do not have any children, I have been able to give money to allow my nephew to attend various sports camps (just did it last month) and have tried to be a part of their lives and taken them to numerous U-M games. So the unease was not due to people giving to help, I think that is great. I struggled with the idea of people giving money to a kid to go to a camp. Sounds hypocritical, I know. Perhaps it is due to the fact when I was growing up I was not able to attend any such camps. So I do not view these things as necessities in life. A disappointment, yes, but not something that I feel bad about. I tend to focus on "needs" versus "wants". I "want" a lot of things but try to focus my spending on things I "need". I still spend too much on "wants".
So I have been thinking that maybe I need to change and give back more. Although, this has been something I have been thinking a lot about recently, it still didn't motivate me to give. I need to better understand how I can help others and will do so, but not sure about the best way. I know when I "retire" I want to change jobs and stay busy with helping others.
So then this afternoon I saw pictures of the tragedy in Nepal and knew, that was where my money needed to go instead. These are people that "need" help. Not that it I feel it is a better choice for anyone else, but it feels better for me.
In conclusion, god bless all those that contributed to help the father and son, you folks are great and generous. I am truly impressed. I hope the son can a great experience and learn a great lesson; to be grateful for the generosity of others and some day if they are in a position to help they will do so. It is a lesson I continue to learn.
I love the support this board offers. To me, I never see more responses to a post than when someone asks for prayers. When I see that, I am reminded what a great group of people we have here.
OK, I have rambled long enough. Thanks for allowing me to be part of this great community.
Go Blue,
Paul
Since that time I have had to think about my own values and have still not settled on what I think is the right thing but wanted to share some of them.
First reaction was one of sympathy. Knowing the son would be missing out on something that was important to him. When I saw all the responses with an offer to pay and/or contribute I was among other things 1) happy that the young man would be able to go and share the memory with his dad; 2) disappointed in myself that I did not have the same sense of giving; 3) truly impressed with all the people that offered to donate (esp. John who also offered to coordinate) and proud to be part of the Michigan family that displays this generosity; and 4) a sense of unease.
The sense of unease was purely judgement on myself. While I have been blessed with many opportunities in my life and extremely grateful for them. I do not feel I have given back enough. Although I do not have any children, I have been able to give money to allow my nephew to attend various sports camps (just did it last month) and have tried to be a part of their lives and taken them to numerous U-M games. So the unease was not due to people giving to help, I think that is great. I struggled with the idea of people giving money to a kid to go to a camp. Sounds hypocritical, I know. Perhaps it is due to the fact when I was growing up I was not able to attend any such camps. So I do not view these things as necessities in life. A disappointment, yes, but not something that I feel bad about. I tend to focus on "needs" versus "wants". I "want" a lot of things but try to focus my spending on things I "need". I still spend too much on "wants".
So I have been thinking that maybe I need to change and give back more. Although, this has been something I have been thinking a lot about recently, it still didn't motivate me to give. I need to better understand how I can help others and will do so, but not sure about the best way. I know when I "retire" I want to change jobs and stay busy with helping others.
So then this afternoon I saw pictures of the tragedy in Nepal and knew, that was where my money needed to go instead. These are people that "need" help. Not that it I feel it is a better choice for anyone else, but it feels better for me.
In conclusion, god bless all those that contributed to help the father and son, you folks are great and generous. I am truly impressed. I hope the son can a great experience and learn a great lesson; to be grateful for the generosity of others and some day if they are in a position to help they will do so. It is a lesson I continue to learn.
I love the support this board offers. To me, I never see more responses to a post than when someone asks for prayers. When I see that, I am reminded what a great group of people we have here.
OK, I have rambled long enough. Thanks for allowing me to be part of this great community.
Go Blue,
Paul
