PERSPECTIVE

Generosity learning, being and doing A glimpse of the future 2020 vision makes it clear how we must act

Ayoung man approached me in a parking lot yesterday. “My family and I are staying over there and if we could get five dollars we could get a pizza. If we could get ten we could get two and that would cover us.” I had no idea whether his story was true. He looked as though he was living rough, though—gaunt, sunken cheeks, despairing eyes. Without hesitation, I pulled out my wallet and handed him ten bucks. I don’t know just why I did it. He wasn’t threatening. He wasn’t over imploring. He just seemed to really need a boost right then and interacting with him right there a couple of feet away, I just felt it was a moment. It’s not that I’m on a mission to give away all of our money. I walk and drive by plenty of people who are asking for a little push. And I’m not driven to help others by a sense of guilt or even a feeling of being lucky enough to have it and these others don’t and so therefore it’s my social obligation to do it. Nor do I get a big sense of satisfaction. I have a hard time pinpointing why I feel compelled to help out sometimes, whether scooping a sidewalk for a neighbor or stopping to push a car, and other times not so much. Every fall, a neighbor of ours comes by with his air compressor and blows out our sprinkler lines. He makes the rounds in our corner of the neighborhood and gets everyone ready for winter. He doesn’t ask for anything. He just does it because he can. It is not a transactional offer in any way. Theresa Baer writes this month in her Learn and Live column about teaching children to be generous and to volunteer. She also offers some ideas about where and how. The idea is to help children to be aware of others’ needs and to understand that they, themselves, have something to offer. The goal is for them, really all of us, to not just do generosity as an activity that we have come to understand as something that we should do because we’re lucky enough to have something and those other people are struggling. Where we’re really headed with this is for our children to see people who are just like they are, who just want to be happy just as they do and who don’t want to feel bad just as they don’t want to. We want to get beyond the them and us feelings. We don’t just drop money in a can and walk by. We stop. We talk and engage with people who are just like us. In the end, we want to be generosity, not just do generosity, though W hen it rains, it pours as the saying goes. And lately, if it rains, it snows. And the fires keep burning on the West Coast, across the west and in our backyards. And the hurricanes keep flooding in. Is it crazy that there have been so many named storms this year that they went all the way through the alphabet for storm names and now they’re just using the Greek alphabet? Anyway, I digress. Throw in a global pandemic that’s killed more than 200,000 Americans, widespread drought, civil unrest, the economic challenges that some are feeling, an augmented political landscape, and well, if you aren’t feeling a little anxious, then you must live in a cave with no human contact and spend your days meditating on kindness, compassion, generosity, patience and all those other things that are the good side of human nature. Actually, what I’m struck by is how much kindness, compassion, generosity and patience (yes, I wanted to repeat them for emphasis) I’ve seen in my personal interactions with people or observed as I’m out and about. I’m impressed with human beings overall and dismayed that what we hear about ad nauseum are the abhorrent actions of a few who seem to have a point they want to make. And that point, in my opinion, often falls into the “my beliefs are right, so I’ll do what I want” category. Ah, the true joy of self-righteousness! But most of us are considerate of what our neighbors and fellow citizens think. The only point we want to make is that, given the opportunity, we’re here to help. And what about our kids? Lynn Nichols really dives into it in her story called “Easing Anxiety—talking to your kids about the crazy times of 2020.” It’s really a must-read for its ideas about how to guide your children safely through the dumpster fire that is this year. I think we have an amazing opportunity here to see with 2020 vision what the world might hold for us and strive to make our little corner of the world a better place, not just for ourselves but for everyone, or if everyone sounds like too much, how about for just a few people in our community. The important part is to choose kindness, compassion, generosity and patience. We really are in this together and our happiness and fortunes are linked inextricably. Be well, Scott the path to being generosity, it seems, lies through the path of doing generosity.

‘Tis the season,

Scott

OCTOBER 2019 • Volume 24, Issue 6 OCTOBER 2020 • Volume 25, Issue 5

PUBLISHER Scott Titterington, (970)221-9210 scott.rmpublishing@gmail.com PUBLISHER Scott Titterington, (970)221-9210 scott.rmpublishing@gmail.com EDITOR Kristin Titterington, (970)221-9210 kristin.rmpublishing@gmail.com EDITOR Kristin Titterington, (970)221-9210 kristin.rmpublishing@gmail.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Emily Zaynard emily.rmpublishing@gmail.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Emily Zaynard emily.rmpublishing@gmail.com ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Greg Hoffman, (970)689-6832 greg.rmpublishing@gmail.com ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Greg Hoffman, (970)689-6832 greg.rmpublishing@gmail.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER ADVERTISING SALES EXECUTIVE DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Susan Hartig Susan Harting susan.rmpublishing@gmail.com susan.rmpublishing@gmail.com COVER PHOTO COVER PHOTO Cheri Schonfeld, Courtesy of istockphoto.com Sky’s Open Design - skysopendesign.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Theresa Baer, Lea Hanson, Katie Harris Theresa Baer, Lea Hanson, Katie Harris, Lynn U. Nichols, Scott Titterington Lynn U. Nichols

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