Most of my life I was surrounded by people who did what they did free of charge. I grew up in a volunteer/ missionary world.
Even though services were sometimes charged, it was always for the minimum possible to allow affordability for the poor or for the coverage of costs.
All the work I ever did up until I was almost 25 was free! And I worked hard, very hard!
My reward was the number of lives changed by what I did. The reward was the job itself. The reward was the experience. The reward was..human!
Money ..was almost .....just another noun in my vocabulary at the time.
It bore no emotional meaning to me.
I was blessed to have a home and 3 meals a day, every day.
I was somehow never faced with the burden of "money" per se.
We always had just enough to live, eat, go to school...and feed others!. My mum never made it a big deal that we were ..just making it.... and somehow ..happy...
I knew it from my friends at school that there were some things I could not have ....and that they could have.
The one that hurt me most were school trips...but... it wasn't obvious in everyday life.
We always had enough food to feed an army.
People would turn up at home any time of day or night and we always coughed up a lovely..tasty... Italian meal in no time!
I learnt to do all kinds of things myself..like sewing, cooking, building and I mean "building", mixing cement , cutting wood etc...fixing almost anything...and the list goes on.
Some years later..... today...
I am in New York City!! Manhattan.... experiencing one of the meanest meanings of "money"..:." and that is: " it's everything!"
I am sure /hoping that it cannot be this way all the time but today I feel how money makes it all work. The machine of life...well.. almost...
I might have blown things out of proportion but it really did sicken me today!
If I were to go to school..... money, I If I were to choose my career...money, I If I were to wake up and go to work...money..I am probably exaggerating but ..mm maybe not as much as one would think!.../ hope...
I have had interactions in this city where I might as well have been dealing with robots/machines.
A simple thing like ordering a coffee could have been that kind of an experience.
As a foreigner..some time ago for me...."Hi, I'd like a cappuccino please?" ..."what size?..bla...bla..bla..."....." mmm.. small " ..."oh, ok u mean "tall"....?" .."ya o.k. "tall".."," skim or whole?"...." hu?" ..." the milk..".." oh whole is ok."
"For here or to go ? " .."hu?" .."
I still remember my first coffee order ..
It sounded like: fourheeertugo ? ????..I was a little startled and shy...what am I supposed to answer??..what are they saying..??....oh..mmm ..." to go.".
Reality is..
Today...
What saddens me most is that there are are actually HOSPITALS ..and all I can think is............money. Insurance companies. and all I can think is ....money..
The point is .. I wish I would not have to "look" for the humanity in all of this.. I wish I could breathe "humanity" rather than breathe ...mmmm whatever..... I am very over qualified but I really do believe in their work so I will surely be happy doing photocopies!!..even cleaning bathrooms!
Believe it or not!! ..NO reply.
If you had asked for MONEY we would have considered it !!
That's an extreme to me!
I don't know what to do with this..
I really don't.
It's a shame, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteVery well said, our attitudes in America seem to always focus around the concept of MONEY and in todays throw away society, there is a price tag attached to almost everything material that we either want, need or simply must have. I remember growing up, a long time ago, thinking gee, can't for Christmas to get here, so I will get gifts to open and have some more stuff. As I grew older and matured just a little, I started to realize the real reason for Christmas celebration and it took on a whole different meaning. Family, love and adoration for a savior who died for me and all the rest of humanity, whatever that is now! It is amazing the emphasis that has been put on money here in United States and really around the globe today. It's either you have or you have not now and without a bank account and a steady flow of revenue into it, pretty much you do without things wanted for extra comfort. Your post was awesome, enjoyed it.
ReplyDelete