Greed
I just returned from a trip out of the country. It was eye-opening for me. Several reminders came up: we have very much wealth in our country and we sometimes take it for granted. The concept of wealth is different depending upon your perceived need. If we have plenty, we fear we may lose it, if we have very little, we are constantly fearing everything will be gone…That perception determines how we treat others….
Greed happens to all humans whether they are wealthy or not…how we respond to our greed may depend upon our ability to reflect on our humanity and that of our fellow man.
If we don’t, we find ourselves being greedy back…ie…grumbling about the cost and forgetting we have the money to spend. if we respond in love, we become more generous, more understanding and more tolerant.
On the trip, I witnessed multiple times this greed for money, “in action”, I also witnessed generosity in several of the people I was traveling with; much love, much generosity and a huge spirit of love! This was shown in the tips given, the verbal conversations I overheard about gratitude for what we have here at home and in the final gesture of love by two of our travelers who went out of their way to help feed all of us plus others who were stuck overnight at the airport. It s possible, if you ask them, they would think nothing of their generosity but I will say it affected the hearts of everyone and turned a difficult situation into a memorable situation filled with appreciation.
We are so blessed in our country, even those that are poor; compared to people in other countries. It was a huge reminder to me to try to have empathy whenever I see greed or ugliness and try to understand where it comes from…responding to it with love and compassion whenever possible. My traveling companions reminded me of that and I am thankful!
Beyond Blessed!