Black Friday

Today, many people are rushing into stores (please don't kill anyone this year) and buying material items. I don't know why this world puts so much emphasis on material things. I know a thing or two about loss and those material things won't make you happy. Of course, never having money will also make you miserable. How do you find a balance in between the two? I'm getting off subject. I have done without for so many years that I guess I don't understand materialism in the least. Why is it that we always want more in this world when there are so many of us who have so little? I pity the materialistic. I really do. This starts the season of giving, but I do see that there really won't be any giving. There will be BUYING. Christmas is the season for the wealthy. It is not for the poor in anyway at all. I haven't been able to buy a Christmas tree in years. I haven't been able to stand on my own in years.
Why do people care so much about items that they can't take with them when they go? Are you going to have your iPhone and your checkbook in the casket with you? You can definitely request it be put there, but are you going to know it's there?
My philosophy is that I am wealthier than those with money. I think I just heard rich people all over the world gasp. Ha ha! I may not have as much as you have, but I have something better. I have a heart. A broken heart, but it still works better than the hearts of the wealthy. My heart makes me wealthy because it hurts when I see helpless people who can't rise above poverty and oppression. I have a heart to help those that need it. I have a heart that takes pity on the wealthy people who complain about how they can't get out of debt, yet they are absolutely ungrateful for the items they bought that gave them the debt in the first place. Pathetic. My heart makes me wealthy, even though it won't keep me warm or fed. But my heart is full of love that I have to share when many don't even know what that is.

Remember this while you shop today: If you see something that someone needs, buy it. Hand it to them and say, "For you." Then walk away. Maybe an act of generosity without a condescending tone will teach you something, though I know the wealthy don't learn anything.

I have seen many pathetic examples of materialism. I have seen an old woman remember every possession she has ever had, every dollar she has ever loaned out and wasn't repaid, every item she ever loaned out that was never returned, and all she thinks about is money. Sadly, she never remembers what simple things people have done for her and she is very bitter. This woman will probably live to be 100 and try to have her whole house buried with her.

Then I have seen many examples of sincere goodwill. I remember back in 2004, I didn't have a penny to my name, a cigarette to smoke, or food to eat. A woman working at the Willcox Inn in Aiken took me in and I slept wonderfully that night in a suite. I woke up to having an incredible breakfast that only kings dream of and I left with a new outlook on life. I stayed at a five star inn for free. I'll never forget that.

Enjoy your day of shopping until you drop, guys. Be careful out there as you spend money like it means something.