The hardest thing about having nothing, is having nothing to give

[cumulus.james]

Inspired by SophiaGrace, who has this wonderful quote. "The hardest thing about having nothing, is having nothing to give" I want to ask Does anyone else genuinely feel like this? Or is it sentiments bollocks someone said to try to make themselves seem humbled and decent?

It is a condition that goes against human nature (as we can see with all the greed and shallowness in the world). I would think people who are genuinely so desperate to give are rare, and the reason being that it is a form of self loathing/giving up? Because if this is the natural way then why are people so nasty and meas spirited?

It is very well for people who have nothing to wish they had something to give to others, but I wonder how many of them would? I would love to win the lottery so I could help the homeless and set up cancer charities and all sorts. But I wonder, would I really do all those selfless things I fantasize about? Or would I begin veraciously buying up property and stocks, investing and avoiding tax to expand and preserve my new found wealth?

why are the millionaires and billionaires who had enough money for the next 15 generations of their family so desperate to cling on to and gain more money?

 

[LoneKiller]

Inspired by SophiaGrace, who has this wonderful quote. "The hardest thing about having nothing, is having nothing to give" I want to ask Does anyone else genuinely feel like this? Or is it sentiments bollocks someone said to try to make themselves seem humbled and decent?

It is a condition that goes against human nature (as we can see with all the greed and shallowness in the world). I would think people who are genuinely so desperate to give are rare, and the reason being that it is a form of self loathing/giving up? Because if this is the natural way then why are people so nasty and meas spirited?

It is very well for people who have nothing to wish they had something to give to others, but I wonder how many of them would? I would love to win the lottery so I could help the homeless and set up cancer charities and all sorts. But I wonder, would I really do all those selfless things I fantasize about? Or would I begin veraciously buying up property and stocks, investing and avoiding tax to expand and preserve my new found wealth?

why are the millionaires and billionaires who had enough money for the next 15 generations of their family so desperate to cling on to and gain more money?

I think I know what you're saying. Quite often people with that kind of money such as celebrities, donate to charity and things like cancer research. They just don't broadcast it to everyone. Also, I don't want to say greed, but those people with that kind of money usually have a lifestyle that requires that kind of scratch to maintain.

God Bless.
LK

 

[SophiaGrace]

When I was really depressed about a year ago...

I felt like the core aspect of myself, my empathy, had gone. I was constantly getting this mental image of looking into my hand to see what I had to give to my friends, and getting this image of sand running through it, instead of my hand holding what it previously did (its empathy and kindness). I was worn out and wiped out. This thing, which I expected to hold in my minds eye was something I considered to be the core of myself, a little pinprick of light in the dark, the very essence of myself. Without it, who was I? It was a very empty feeling to have.

Also the feeling of having nothing to give to myself to make myself feel better, or fix my problems, was also a wretched feeling to have.

There's a more indepth explanation of my quote.

 

[Sci-Fi]

Seeing as that you are wondering if you won the lottery, would you really do those charitable things you think you would, the answer is no. You already have thought about it, wondered if you'd do those things or spend it to gain more wealth. You'd probably do both, give some to charities and use the rest to either buy yourself something you've always wanted and to expand or secure your wealth. I've thought about the same thing myself. First thing I'd do is pay off my debts and have a clean slate. Spend some on myself, give some to my mom, and some to charities. Right now if I were to win the lottery I'd give some to the tornado relief fund for the town I live in. But I don't play the lottery so that is just a dream.

These million/billionaires clutch onto money because they become accustom to having it, and greed takes over. For example, factory workers, around here they are very well paid, some are way over paid. We had a major factory shut down operation here because the workers wanted more money and wanted to do less work. They were warned, up production or face shut down. There was one lady in a grocery store who's husband was losing his job. Apparently she started to cry about what they were going to do. The thought that came to most peoples mind was...oh my god you might have to sell off your second home! These people had hordes of money, they had a nice fancy home, a big expensive boat, they could sell that stuff and live off it for years. But god forbid they have to give up their luxury life and live like the rest of us do. Greed is a terrible sin, one we can easily fall prey to.

People always have something to give, you can't have nothing unless you've lost the will to live, but if you did you wouldn't be here anyway. We all have something, friendship, sympathetic ear, shoulder to cry on, emotional support, a hug, or just being there for someone when they need it. It's called compassion. It's in us all, we just have to utilize it. Sadly it only comes out in times of a crisis. Most of the time we get too wrapped up in ourselves. It's that greed again.

 

[cumulus.james]

Inspired by SophiaGrace, who has this wonderful quote. "The hardest thing about having nothing, is having nothing to give" I want to ask Does anyone else genuinely feel like this? Or is it sentiments bollocks someone said to try to make themselves seem humbled and decent?

It is a condition that goes against human nature (as we can see with all the greed and shallowness in the world). I would think people who are genuinely so desperate to give are rare, and the reason being that it is a form of self loathing/giving up? Because if this is the natural way then why are people so nasty and meas spirited?

It is very well for people who have nothing to wish they had something to give to others, but I wonder how many of them would? I would love to win the lottery so I could help the homeless and set up cancer charities and all sorts. But I wonder, would I really do all those selfless things I fantasize about? Or would I begin veraciously buying up property and stocks, investing and avoiding tax to expand and preserve my new found wealth?

why are the millionaires and billionaires who had enough money for the next 15 generations of their family so desperate to cling on to and gain more money?

I think I know what you're saying. Quite often people with that kind of money such as celebrities, donate to charity and things like cancer research. They just don't broadcast it to everyone. Also, I don't want to say greed, but those people with that kind of money usually have a lifestyle that requires that kind of scratch to maintain.

God Bless.
LK

Most of them do not donate very much in comparison to their wealth it tents to be pennies. And many of them do it for tax breaks, and especially in the UK they do it so they can say they do it. I think the statistic is 1% of the global population controls 90% of the global wealth. That just is not right.

---

Seeing as that you are wondering if you won the lottery, would you really do those charitable things you think you would, the answer is no. You already have thought about it, wondered if you'd do those things or spend it to gain more wealth. You'd probably do both, give some to charities and use the rest to either buy yourself something you've always wanted and to expand or secure your wealth. I've thought about the same thing myself. First thing I'd do is pay off my debts and have a clean slate. Spend some on myself, give some to my mom, and some to charities. Right now if I were to win the lottery I'd give some to the tornado relief fund for the town I live in. But I don't play the lottery so that is just a dream.

These million/billionaires clutch onto money because they become accustom to having it, and greed takes over. For example, factory workers, around here they are very well paid, some are way over paid. We had a major factory shut down operation here because the workers wanted more money and wanted to do less work. They were warned, up production or face shut down. There was one lady in a grocery store who's husband was losing his job. Apparently she started to cry about what they were going to do. The thought that came to most peoples mind was...oh my god you might have to sell off your second home! These people had hordes of money, they had a nice fancy home, a big expensive boat, they could sell that stuff and live off it for years. But god forbid they have to give up their luxury life and live like the rest of us do. Greed is a terrible sin, one we can easily fall prey to.

People always have something to give, you can't have nothing unless you've lost the will to live, but if you did you wouldn't be here anyway. We all have something, friendship, sympathetic ear, shoulder to cry on, emotional support, a hug, or just being there for someone when they need it. It's called compassion. It's in us all, we just have to utilize it. Sadly it only comes out in times of a crisis. Most of the time we get too wrapped up in ourselves. It's that greed again.

In theory no one has nothing to give. I'd give my time to someone to try and help them in a heartbeat. But I cant manage to. I tried to do some volunteer work but in my affluent middle class town there are not many voluntary groups. Cant even give my time away!

Perhaps its more a question of having something to give that people want. Which usually is money or goods. I mean look at you lot, you are supposedly lonely, but I have tried to talk with some people on here and they are not interested. If you are lonely one would think the thing you need is company, understanding, someone to talk to. That's what I can offer. But I cant give it to anyone.

 

[IgnoredOne]

I came from a fairly wealthy background; people do get passionate about certain causes, but they also have a tendency to look down upon others which may not motivate them to do as much as might be possible.

Beyond that, such as myself, there's a significant concern on how to maintain the present status so that I /can/ do something for the specific few that I care about. That's not easy and takes up a lot of effort, not to mention the amount of time in my case that goes into self-improvement and focus.

 

[Bread]

I'm not by nature a very altruistic person, I must admit. I've lived with constant lack of, well, everything, for the majority of my life, and charity isn't just something you can afford when you get hand-me-down clothes and no regular income. Things have started to look up as of late, 'tho, so I don't know...maybe I'll do some checks and see if there's any worthy cause that I can donate to that isn't subject to deceit and people filling their own pockets. World's made me very cynical, and I generally feel I can't trust charities, or that they don't manage to do a whole lot of good in the world...

For some reason, the first thing I thought about when I saw the title was 'The hardest thing about having nothing, is having nothing to eat.'

 

[IgnoredOne]

For some reason, the first thing I thought about when I saw the title was 'The hardest thing about having nothing, is having nothing to eat.'

All things are better with Bread.

I've heard that Finland is an expensive place to live in, where going out to the equivalent of a Starbucks cafe for many people is apparently, something worth debating the expense of.

 

[Bread]

All things are better with Bread.

I've heard that Finland is an expensive place to live in, where going out to the equivalent of a Starbucks cafe for many people is apparently, something worth debating the expense of.

That it is. Last year, we were Europe's 4th most expensive country, and I'd say that the trend has continued. As I said before, somewhere, things are looking a tad grim. Mass layoffs are already in progress and prices of everything keeps on growing, and I wouldn't be surprised if we were in dire straits within the next ten years or so.

 

[IgnoredOne]

That it is. Last year, we were Europe's 4th most expensive country, and I'd say that the trend has continued. As I said before, somewhere, things are looking a tad grim. Mass layoffs are already in progress and prices of everything keeps on growing, and I wouldn't be surprised if we were in dire straits within the next ten years or so.

I was planning on visiting at some point, but its a terrifying prospect to think that the prices would be high enough to be prohibitive to travellers and tourists.