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Our calendar tip for today is “Give away some of your possessions”. The wording could have been better, I admit. What I actually meant was: Give away something from your possessions that you would have liked to keep for yourself.
Most of us probably have little trouble getting rid of old superfluous stuff. But giving away things that still have (emotional or financial) value is much more difficult. Yet it gives you an incredible feeling of happiness, when you realize your material things get a larger meaning for someone else.
Speaking of giving away: I hereby make a warm appeal to surf to the website of the Belgian Red Cross https://www.rodekruis.be/helpenhelpt/.
Right now they are asking that you no longer donate goods (maybe back later). But you can support our countrymen through financial donations or your valuable time as a volunteer (see also our blog post about this).
Not only will you be helping those in need, but you will find that it makes love feel warm yourself!
This true story is about a poor nine-year-old girl who gave away a self-earned quarter (about 20 cents).
Sara Tung on Quora
I once gave away a quarter.
A quarter may not sound like much, but it was significant to me.
When I was growing up, my family had very little money. I only ever wore hand me downs, and my clothing was always a little too big, or a bit too tight. Mom stuck to a strict budget, and my sister and I didn’t have an allowance.
I didn’t mind for the most part, but it was sometimes hard when the weather was nice. You see, when the weather was nice, the ice cream man would come to the school with his ice cream cart.
Once in a long while, Mom would buy an orange popsicle after school for my sister and me to share. But it was a rare treat, and most days, we would just walk by.
Before and after school, the ice cream man would be right outside the school entrance. At lunch time, when the weather was fine, the ice cream man would park his cart right next to the school playground. So every day when school was in session, when the weather was nice, I would see the ice cream man three times a day.
Three times a day, I would watch as other kids bought ice cream at the ice cream cart.
Lunchtime was the worst.
After lunch, kids would swarm around the ice cream man, and walk around the playground eating their ice cream.
Almost every kid in my class visited the ice cream man regularly, and I would watch as my classmates made their purchases.
I became familiar with the smells of all the different types of ice cream long before I ever tasted them… Creamsicles, cherry pops, peanut encrusted cones, chocolate covered bars, Italian Ices. I would breathe in the sweet aroma of the sticky treats.
One morning when I was in the fourth grade, I was chosen along with another girl to be the aide for one of the first grade teachers. We helped her tidy her classroom and washed her chalkboard.
After we finished with the chalkboard and had put away the bucket and sponges, the teacher reached into her purse and gave us each a shiny quarter.
A whole quarter!
The nine-year-old me knew exactly what I wanted to do with that quarter. I was going to buy a popsicle at lunchtime.
I was so excited that I could barely concentrate in class for the rest of the morning.
After lunch, I proudly went to the end of the line that had formed in front of the ice cream man. I was elated to be buying ice cream at lunchtime for the very first time.
As I stood in line, my eyes caught the gaze of a girl in my class that I will call Mary. She was wistfully watching as the kids bought their ice cream.
I knew that look all too well.
I thought about it, and I couldn’t recall Mary ever getting ice cream. I realized that she was just like me.
When I glanced at Mary again, I saw the reflection of me. A girl who day after day watched her classmates buy ice cream, never getting to partake herself.
Suddenly, I didn’t feel so happy anymore. As I waited in line, I became excruciatingly aware of Mary’s longing stare.
I tried to shake it off. I had earned my quarter, I deserved my popsicle.
But I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that had formed in the pit of my stomach. The idea of getting a popsicle, and Mary watching me eat it made me very sad.
The feeling grew and grew as I got closer and closer to the front of the line until I couldn’t stand it anymore. I made up my mind. I stepped out of the line and walked towards Mary.
“Hey, do you want this?” I asked Mary casually, holding out the quarter in my palm.
Lost in her longing, Mary took a second to register that I was talking to her.
“Really?” Mary asked incredulously, her eyes lighting up.
“Take it,” I urged, as I nodded.
Mary took the quarter and bought a cherry popsicle. I watched as Mary ate her popsicle, the popsicle tinting her lips red as she slowly savored it like none of my other classmates ever did.
It was the very first time I enjoyed watching a classmate eat ice cream. And for some reason, I felt satisfied, as if I had eaten the popsicle myself.