Day 4 – Time or Money?

To find out where this challenge came about, see this.

Sorry for missing the one yesterday; Had a Barre class and was super duper tired afterwards. And even today i feel a slight reluctance to journal because i’m not in the right state of mind to think about life. So i shall pick something light and move on from there, right?

Journal prompt from here.

So.

Do you prefer to donate time or money to those in need? Why?

I think both are equally important, and because i have somewhat ‘split’ personalities sometimes, depending on whether i feel brave or not, here are my thoughts:

Money.

For when i feel cowardly, when i feel like I can’t possibly make a difference, and me being there is just a huge hindrance. For what, right? 
Because it’s always something that is needed. Because it’s something practical, and because it’s something that is needed to buy the food that we all need to eat, buy the materials needed to e.g. repair a broken toilet, repaint walls, buy cleaning materials, rent a venue for an event, etc.

Because it’s something easy to give, and easy to feel like you’ve done something. And it is important for sure, for the reasons i’ve mentioned above. But it’s also very easy to detach yourself from the reality. It’s easy to think giving money helps to change the lives of people, and in a way, yes. It’s also much easier to reach out to different kinds of charity in this way, because it’s tough to commit to a whole bunch of charities physically, unless you don’t have to work, and even if you don’t, in order to make an impact, you usually have to input a lot of time and effort into it (if you intend to be an organiser etc). So in this way, monetary donations are preferred. It’s also instant gratification (in a way) since once that money goes into the tin can, you grab a sticker, and feel like you’ve done something good.

Time.

The one thing i wished i did better at. The one thing i feel really makes an impact, even if it’s just to one person. The thing that truly warms your heart.

Time’s a tough thing to donate. There’s so many other things you could be doing with your time, and sometimes it feels like you need even more. Where in the world would you find extra time to donate it to others?

But it’s the one thing i feel makes a more meaningful impact, although again it depends on what you’re doing. I generally prefer those where you get to interact with the beneficiaries directly, although i have to admit throughout the process i’m just a mess – lots of worrying, lots of fear, and lots of awkwardness (because well, i’m an awkward person.). But it’s also those events where i feel like i’ve actually done something. When they laugh at what you say, or enjoy the events planned, it warms my heart. It’s also why generally i prefer backend work of an event because you get to see the fruits of the labour, and because i’m really bad at interacting with strangers. I try, and i really really really want to be able to be like those people who open up so easily. But it’s tough for me. But i’ll try harder. Try to observe and learn, and try harder to stop being so afraid.

I’ve once been told by someone that they don’t believe in going down to volunteer, because it’s on such a small scale that it doesn’t really matter. It’s more impactful to try to change things from the top, make lives better for people in general. But I feel you need both. Because money can’t change how you feel when you’re alone and need a companion. And money can’t change much when you need someone to talk to, or feel like someone still cares.

Money’s just a paper, but we’re more than that, right?

-shz