Thought for today:
"Isn't it strange that those people in the world within the poorest of nations are, on a one-to-one basis, the most generous of people in the world. However little they have, they are prepared to share with their fellow creature. Between 1990 and 2000, I raised over £200,000 for charitable causes (mostly from the sales of my published books in Yorkshire schools), and without single exception, it was always the poorest who gave the most.
I rarely saw exceptional generosity come from a rich man's camp. It invariably came from those pockets with the least to spare. I once asked my mother, 'How do I know how much to give to this good cause and that cause, and how do I know when I have given enough?'
My mother replied, 'If the amount that you have given doesn't hurt your pocket, then it is probably not enough!'
I once went to Manchester with my mother and though we had little money at the time, she placed a £1-note in the outstretched hand of a beggar who had asked for pennies for a cup of tea. As the beggar ran off in glee, I berated my mother for her foolishness and told her that tea would be the last thing on the beggar's mind and if we followed the blighter, he'd be in the nearest pub now.
'Oh why,oh why did you give him the money, Mum? We needed it. He'll be buying no tea today, I'll wager!' I said in exasperation. My mother simply smiled and said,'You're probably right, Billy. Tea will probably be the last thing the beggar will have on his mind or buy with my £1 note, but if I didn't give it this time, I'd probably not give it the next time, and that might be the one time that a beggar deserves it and is truly in need of a cup of tea?'
My mother was a relatively uneducated person who had to leave school at the age of 13 years to help her mother raise her six younger children, but wisdom was not one of the things that she lacked in." William Forde: October 5th, 2013.
"Isn't it strange that those people in the world within the poorest of nations are, on a one-to-one basis, the most generous of people in the world. However little they have, they are prepared to share with their fellow creature. Between 1990 and 2000, I raised over £200,000 for charitable causes (mostly from the sales of my published books in Yorkshire schools), and without single exception, it was always the poorest who gave the most.
I rarely saw exceptional generosity come from a rich man's camp. It invariably came from those pockets with the least to spare. I once asked my mother, 'How do I know how much to give to this good cause and that cause, and how do I know when I have given enough?'
My mother replied, 'If the amount that you have given doesn't hurt your pocket, then it is probably not enough!'
I once went to Manchester with my mother and though we had little money at the time, she placed a £1-note in the outstretched hand of a beggar who had asked for pennies for a cup of tea. As the beggar ran off in glee, I berated my mother for her foolishness and told her that tea would be the last thing on the beggar's mind and if we followed the blighter, he'd be in the nearest pub now.
'Oh why,oh why did you give him the money, Mum? We needed it. He'll be buying no tea today, I'll wager!' I said in exasperation. My mother simply smiled and said,'You're probably right, Billy. Tea will probably be the last thing the beggar will have on his mind or buy with my £1 note, but if I didn't give it this time, I'd probably not give it the next time, and that might be the one time that a beggar deserves it and is truly in need of a cup of tea?'
My mother was a relatively uneducated person who had to leave school at the age of 13 years to help her mother raise her six younger children, but wisdom was not one of the things that she lacked in." William Forde: October 5th, 2013.
