These lyrics perfectly describe why I feel the need to give

I’ll be praying for the widow all alone 
Sewing clothes for a loaf of bread
It is not my fault that she is hungry
It’s my joy to make sure she’s fed

~ JJ Heller, “Little Things”

This lyric was shared with me by one of my favorite entrepreneurs, Daniel Roberts (check out Friendly Human, his amazing video company specializing in visual storytelling for human centric brands). The reason I wanted to share it was because when I talk to people about giving money or food to a homeless person, I often get funny looks and comments back about how its their own fault they are in the circumstances they are in, or that its not my fault they are in that situation, or they’ll just use it for booze.

My answer is always that the money I hand them is going to mean so much more in their life than it will in mine and it brings me personal joy to do that. It’s not because I think they necessarily made all the right choices in life (but who does) or that they’re trying their absolute hardest to get out of their situation. It’s not because I think they’re going to use that money to buy a suit and a shower and go get a job interview. It’s because it makes me feel good to help someone, so I do it.

The concept isn’t too different from the quote I shared recently, You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. Put good into the world and the world will be good to you. Something that I want in life is to be happy and feel good about my place in the world. I’m not judging anyone that doesn’t want to give money to homeless people, or trying to guilt anyone into doing it. I do it because it makes me feel good and brings happiness to my life and hopefully to someone else’s life.

And no matter how much I help, I’m always left feeling like I need to be doing more. I’ve been too fortunate in my life not to do more.