Money (Photo credit: @Doug88888)
WordPress Krista asked today: “What is your least favourite personal quality in others? Extra points for sharing your least favourite personal quality in yourself.”
My least favourite quality in others is greed. It is also my least favourite quality in myself. I have trained myself to be generous, but I have to admit that though I love to give, I also love to receive.
I was talking to a friend yesterday who said that someone he knows and respects posted on Facebook that Christmas to her is no longer wanting things, but being grateful for things. I would like to join her league—but this friend and I have not been quite as fortunate in life moneywise as the person who posted on Facebook. We both laughed and he said—“Yeah, Peace on earth and goodwill to man, but I would be grateful for a new truck.”
People who make wide sweeping statements such as “I don’t want anything for Christmas”, or “I am just happy being grateful for all I have” forget that others are not as fortunate as they are. I sometimes think that my brush with poverty has made me more aware that not everyone has a silver spoon in their drawer (I do, but my silver was inherited). I am more compassionate now and more willing to give to Missions who feed the homeless, having come close to walking in the shoes of the less fortunate. I am lucky to have family and friends who helped me and my family through some rough times saving us from a dire situation. Not all people are so lucky. And for that, I am eternally grateful.
Have you ever had something unfortunate happen that taught you some lessons?
On the Homefront 
My years of trying to support my sons on less than a living wage has made me very sensitive about greed. Don’t get me wrong – I love being on the receiving end, tho’ I really do like the ‘giving’ side more. I think I least like disingenuousness in others and I dislike the tendency to be a martyr in myself (and my kids call me on it which is good).
It is always the unfortunate situations that teach us lessons. I mean, who learns a lesson from sitting on a beach, having one person bring them drinks and another rub coconut oil on them? No, it’s standing in the yard watching your house burn to the ground or being stunned to learn someone you love has betrayed you or hearing the company you’ve given every waking hour to for twenty years is going bankrupt. Now that’s where the lessons are. It’s what we do with those lessons that make the difference. Sounds like gratitude is a lesson you have learned well, LouAnn. One maybe we could all stand to remember at this time of year. Thanks for the reminder.
Listening to the CBC the other day, I gleaned a bit of info. on lottery winners…..those that gave a vast amount of their winnings to charities, friends and family were a lot “happier” than those who did not. Giving is a good feeling for sure, but maybe I’d like to test that theory myself!
I’d like to test out the lottery theory too, though I am happy enough as we are now. We learned to be better about wants vs needs a few years back when my husband was suddenly laid off. He has since landed on his feet again, but we are much more aware of what we actually need to survive than we used to be. We both look back on that time as a good wake-up call that taught us some good life lessons.
Yup.
Life…
I think I learned a lot from seeing where my dad came from & how hard he worked for our family to provide for us so that we didn’t have to live like he did. Because of my mom & dad – we got to enjoy our childhoods & not have to be concerned about where our next meals would come from or where we would sleep for the night.
Just read recently that gratitude and blessings balance our greed and ego. Perhaps it’s not about trying to get rid of the parts of ourselves we don’t like, but developing compassion for those parts. At least that’s what I’m trying to do…and it sounds like you are, too.
I like that–a little give, a little take, good combo