Dear Giving Friends, aka “Angels of Our Better Nature,”
Did you know when we click “Like” supporting a cause, or to share an outrage with an injustice, we are actually less likely to make a donation to the movement we strongly feel we support? Likewise, those of us most virtually vocal about “causes” are less likely to be donating our money or time.
Weird, eh?
Maybe the bridge in our personal reality and our virtual reality is so linked that we feel offering a well intended “Like” into the cybersphere actually is doing something. We clicked, right?
Or maybe the tangible material sacrifice it takes to actually give feels unnatural amid the pattern of the world (which coaches hard that looking out for Number One is No. 1, and the No. 1 way to do that is to keep a hand on your own stash).
Easy solution: Have the urge to click “Like”? Test your commitment by clicking “Give” first.
But that can feel a little unnatural, a little risky. It is. That’s your own cash!
But actual giving is also better than natural. It’s the “Like” of an angel.
Next time the urge to click “Like” hits this giving season, click “Give” first. Join the club of the Angels of Our Better Nature.
And, join the angels of angels, and give the riskiest of giving: to the chronic and recently poor. (Whew! We’ve had a lot of recently poor around the world last year!)
Selah,
W. K. Sheldrake
South Fork
