On giving

The benefits are unsuspected.

This is a story I was about to share in a thread. But I hesitated.
A hesitation that was born out of a moral dilemma: can you use what you've done right to promote your content?

Is it ethical?

No philosophy on this Friday morning but I wanted to write about it and I thought it was possible in the newsletter.

The story starts in a period where I was not feeling very well. Seeing me wasting away, one of my relatives advised me to do some voluntary work.

"You'll see, there are people much more miserable than you.”

Strange idea to see unhappy people to feel better.
But taking his advice to the letter, I introduce myself to an organization.
I tell them my qualifications and am assigned to my first task.
One of the first things I did with them was to distribute food to people who had little money.

For the first time in my life, I saw what REAL poverty was. People willing to wait a whole afternoon for a little food. People with children and nothing left to eat in their cupboards. The distress on their faces was something that stayed with me. That night, when I got home, I was jaded about this world.

My problems didn't really seem to matter anymore.

The adventures with this organization continued for a while.

And another of the activities was visiting old people.
There are old people who have nobody, literally nobody.
Your visit is their only highlight in their final years.
When you arrive, their faces light up. You are afraid to ask the questions: "But you don't have any children? any friends?"
You wish you knew.
You don't really need to ask them, one look at the state of the apartment tells you that no one comes here.
Then your heart breaks once again.
You also imagine your own end of life. That it could look like this. Between 4 walls, alone, with the only contact with the outside world being a visit from someone you don't know.
Scary.
Some of these old people can no longer move from their beds. A nurse takes care of their hygiene. But they wait for the end as if they were stuck without a movie theater once the movie is over.

During the lockdown period, the association went around to give food to these isolated people.
The distress was even greater.
These people could no longer leave their homes.
The weight of loneliness was even greater on their faces.

The association also made visits to the hospital. Sick children with various diseases, some very serious, their look is enough to pierce your soul.
The cancer department makes you wonder if there is any justice in the world. Why do these things happen. Why do some people suffer so much. All you can do is pray for change. The association provides gifts, activities.
They do what they can to try to put a smile on a face. Even if it is only for a few minutes.

The misery and the harshness of this world take on very different faces.

It is true that I have painted a rather sad picture but our activities were not limited to that.

After a few months, I was able to become a "teacher."
Having always been a sportsman, I was able to help young people to start sports. And that was probably the thing I was most proud of in my life.

It's funny how what makes us proud is not connected to our finances.

Then there were the groupings. Sports activities, outings. The life of the association was multi-faceted and it helped me to grow. As a man but especially as a human being.

In the end, I'm not sure that I was the one who gave.
I received. Experience and timeless lessons.

On second thought, we're going to die.
And what will our legacy be?
I'm not sure that at our funeral, some guy will say "He had a big car and millions."
That our epitaph will be : "Here lies the man who worked that hard."
But it's probably the impact you had on the world that will live on.
The people you inspired, the people you loved.

Our possessions will be forgotten, transferred, bequeathed but not our actions. They will be ours forever. They make you immortal.

This post is not meant to be a lecture.
In fact, it's very personal to commit to this path.
And today, I don't do it anymore even though a part of me knows that I should continue.

There are times in life when you need to be selfish.
To focus on oneself in order to be able to give to others one day.

And there are times when we are altruistic.
If you are in this one.
Experience it.
And if you think you have nothing to give.
You always have time.
And for some, that's everything.

I wish you a nice weekend.
See you on Monday.
And before we leave.
I wrote a lot this week on medium : https://medium.com/@viam_
I need 8 followers to reach 100.
You can help me.

A second thing is that I'm preparing a mini course at the end of February.

I have two topics in mind:
- Journaling, a nice series of mails about how to journal to change your life
- Twitter, everything I know about twitter

If you prefer one or the other, comment, reply to this email or let me know on instagram.

Thank you.