Charity
Do it to Feel Good
by Suparna Sinha
Charity. This word may provoke different reactions in different people. Some of us love to do charity just to make ourselves happy, for a sense of self-fulfilment. Some of us do so to prove that we are a notch higher than our peers, and show them that we can dispense off with a moderate sum of money. In short, we satisfy our egos. And well, let’s face it, most of us don’t think charity to be our cup of tea. We are not plainly interested in charity; we feel that it is the responsibility of the government or the uber-rich to take care of the needy; we have enough number of people to spend our money on; we have to satisfy the material needs of our family, relatives, and sometimes friends, and are sincerely concerned about their welfare. Where is the mental space to think about anybody else, let alone fulfil their monetary needs? That too a nameless person, whom we haven’t met, or will never meet again? Does anybody give us money for free? Never. We have to toil day in and day out to earn money. What is the use of feeding a hungry stomach when millions are dying of hunger in the world? Excuses galore!
Here is where you are wrong my dear friend. If there are millions dying of hunger, then there are millions who fall sick due to over-eating. We are lucky to have more than enough food on our plates. Can’t we just share a tenth of it? It would fill some part of a hungry stomach.
You would say, it’s easier said than done. But I would want to reverse this. It’s easier done than said. So friends, first do it. Just find a way to feed a hungry one. It could be two slices of bread; that would mean a lot to a hungry person who was ready to end his yet another food-deprived day.
There is another argument put forth by people that beggars are lazy people. They are not ready to work. This I feel is a ridiculous statement. Do they have the opportunity to work? How many of us have told a destitute to get in our cars, taken them home or to a shop, and given them a job? How do we expect them to toil under the blazing sun, or icy chill without food in their stomachs?
So friends, instead of analyzing a beggar’s attitude, just feed him a paltry share of your food. It feels good. It really does. Just do it and see for yourself. When you see a hungry soul, just think how fortunate you are and feel privileged to share your fortune. Thank God that He has given you this opportunity for good karma.
Charity is contagious. If you start it, others will follow suit. Slowly but surely, millions would go to bed with satiation in their minds, and blessings in their hearts, for all of us who have helped them. Make charity a way of life. Even if you share a page calling for donations to end hunger, you are being charitable. If you feel that it isn’t possible to reach out to the starving in Africa, you are wrong. There will be a way, if your will to do good to others is strong. New ideas would crop up, and if a wave of egalitarianism sweeps the world, governments and other organizations would rethink on their strategies, or invent new ones. Food banks would be common, giving would be a way of life, and food would be like oxygen, ever available, never to deplete.
It is a big ask you may say, but why think about the ask, when all we have to do is part with a fraction of the food we eat every day, give it in the hands of a hungry child, watch its eyes twinkle, see its bright smile, and feel blessed and good about it. Just try being charitable for once, and you would never want to be the same old self again.
