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from the sorry-this-was-not-posted-earlier-today dept.
It has been quite a year so far. A new Covid-19 variant was just discovered. The economy is lurching along trying to make the best of things with supply shortages and delivery challenges. There seems to be a new challenge to face wherever we look.
Then again, there are those on the margins who were already struggling to make ends meet. The first to be let go when times are tough and the last to be rehired — through no fault of their own. Having a college education is no guarantee of success. (I have experienced homelessness, personally.) Health issues, automation replacing manual labor, an economic downturn when a major employer closes, a car accident and medical expenses... most of us are living closer to the edge than we realize.
Today is the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving and for the past nine years has been known as GivingTuesday. For me, it serves an an acknowledgement of my own mortality. That I will not live forever and I am just one unforeseen event away from being dependent on others to survive. I just heard on the news yesterday that a lung transplant (e.g. for someone who came down with COVID-19) costs $1.2 million. There goes your life's savings.
If at such times I would need to rely on others to get by, why not reach out right now and try to help someone else in a spirit of gratitude for what I have today and to help someone else who is struggling and is in need.
Monetary donations are one way to help. So is spending an evening at a soup kitchen. Volunteering to share your skills and knowledge to someone else. Even something as simple as resolving to smile and wave to all you meet on a walk. Such simple acts have no cost, but to someone who is having a rough day they can be priceless.
SoylentNews was founded by people who donated their time and talents to help a community. And continue to do so. So, look a little farther afield and help someone else today. You, and they, will be glad you did!
(Score: 4, Informative) by Common Joe on Wednesday December 01 2021, @04:48PM (5 children)
I wish I could agree with you, but the sad fact is that sometimes asking for help can bring your more misfortune. I've had that more times than I can count. I eventually learned to stop asking as I've found it's better to almost always better just muscle my way through it. It's put me at a severe disadvantage in many areas of my life. But those are the cards I was dealt.
With all that negativity said, I do occasionally find people who want to help and do. I want to give a shout out here to Immerman who helped me through a really stressful and particular tough moment in my life starting exactly two years ago. After circling each others comments for years on Slashdot and then on Soylent News, I wound up connecting with them here about a problem I was having and we chatted privately about it for several weeks after our initial connection. Immerman, if you read this, I want to thank you again for you help. It meant a lot to me.
And I'm thankful to see all of you on here -- especially the regulars. I feel very much at home here on Soylent News. I don't say a lot, but after having quite a few crappy years, I always felt like I could login to here and belong to a community that actually cared about things that mattered to me.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Wednesday December 01 2021, @07:46PM
(Score: 2) by martyb on Wednesday December 01 2021, @07:58PM (2 children)
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Thursday December 02 2021, @01:30AM
Thank you, for both.
(Score: 2) by Common Joe on Tuesday December 07 2021, @08:11PM
Thank you.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Immerman on Wednesday December 01 2021, @10:17PM
You are most welcome, it was a pleasure.
And thank you for your comment. It warmed my heart in a way I hadn't realized I'd been needing.