Pyramids - lagacy

With or without you

People hope that their loved ones will be fine, financially, after their demise. Wills are drawn up in the hope that there are no arguments and infighting when they go. This is all very noble. Shortly after someone dies there is a scramble to grab the spoils. During the frenzy of the aftermath, people measure the value of the items left behind rather than measure the value of the person they once had. When the gain in money is a fine compensation for the loss of the individual, our priorities can look very misplaced. In a truly loving relationship, no amount of money could make up for what has departed. Benefiting from a death demeans the value of the life ended. Sorting out the mess someone left behind can aid the grieving and bereavement process. Some want a hassle-free inheritance and a remotely arranged funeral. They are the cold brutally self-orientated putrid scabs of society.

Nobody is irreplaceable. Businesses find work arounds once key figures leave. Loose ends are swept away. Other people are put in place and on it goes. Families find ways to manage one way or another. They may miss your special bread buns but find alternatives, sometimes better. To think that the world will end when you do, is laughable.

The names of those that made key discoveries scar the history books. We believe that if it wasn’t for a particular individual, then we wouldn’t have certain inventions today. Whist certain individuals provided the guiding force, in virtually all instances, if they hadn’t found it, then someone else would have, albeit a short time after. Anything worth investigating will get investigated sooner or later. Humanity changes as a collective. Individuals make their contribution, however, no one person is ever the sole vital proponent. No one person is ever vital to humankind's progression. For each person that sped something up there are a lot more that slowed things down. There is a lesson one can draw from this. Working too hard, never knowing when enough is enough, sabotages the time out to enjoy other fruits of life.

Into a tourist shop went we, whereupon the salesman locked the door preventing me and she from leaving until we bought something. Whilst it was evident that poverty was abound, I am not sure a sales tactic such as that is commendable. A fellow traveller asked my why poverty was abound given that the government receives so much from the use of the shipping canal. Millions of pieces of silver a day. I told them that with tens of millions of people here, that is a fraction of one piece of silver each per person – enough for one meal each. People with vast sums to give away face a dilemma. Should they concentrate the philanthropy on a single issue such as a certain disease or try to liven up the days of many in multiple projects. An ultra-rich soul could divide their fortune amongst the poor. A billion pieces of silver shared amongst a billion of those with their hands held out is one piece each. Help helps for sure but during the good times more are born, and the problem expands.

Before setting off for Christmas, in the sunshine once again, I went to get a small present. I told the sweet lass who served me that I was going away. She asked me where, and I produced a banknote from this land locked country. “Errrh - where all those starving children are?” I duly informed her that there is no famine now, all is fine. I didn’t get around to explaining that there never was a famine as such. People had been displaced. It was not a shortage of food that led people into refugee camps but politics, namely land grabs. She was not even born when the issue became a focus of such media attention. This story has ingrained itself into the collective memory. Money was raised, and a portion of it was put to use. However, the long-term damage was huge. People talk positively about neighbouring countries but are puzzled by why someone would want to go to this country, which is as good, if anything, better in some ways. Only hard-core travellers visit. Very few business people go there, which means lower inward investment. A country’s image tarnished for generations, all because a few wanted to feel good about themselves. Kneejerk reactions without analysis and thought.

Too many are too rash, too quick off the mark. They don’t get a detailed view before they embark on a project. Many a flyby giver will come, pledge, and then go. No one gets it completely right, but some create a bigger mess. Donations need not be made anonymously. There is no shame in being credited for any help we give, but all gifts spite those that are ignored. When you raise the profile of one cause, it drowns out others . Charity can be transformative. It can be cherished though by the recipients regardless of the endlessness of it. By and large we give to the cause that has greatest meaning to us. It is co-consideration selfishness at its finest and unavoidably imperfect. Whether we distribute fairly or awkwardly, we don’t need a fortune to make a dent in people's sorrows. We can offer our time instead. That can be valued more in many situations. Too many do nothing bar harass those they think should be doing more.