24th May 2005, 4:08 PM
Boy you just dont stop :D
Okay, this will look like story time, but bare with me. When I was 7 years old I was at the grocery store and I had just gotten a huge pack of gum. I rarely got gum so this was a treat for me. I couldn't open it until I got outside so I waited and waited, finally we were outside. I opened up the gum and that's when I saw an old man sitting next to a trash bag. He was holding a sign that says "Need food". Without hesitating I gave him my pack of gum.
Why did I do this:
1.) Life experience has shown me what it's like to live without food (my family was very poor at one point) so I understood the value of getting food.
2.) I understood that he didn't have money to get food and I did, we just got bags and bags of it but I knew not to ask my mom to give him that food because I understood that the food she got was for the entire family. The gum was mine alone so it was free to share in my mind.
3.) After giving him the gum, I never once thought if I was doing the right thing (or wrong) until a complete stranger came up to me in the parking lot and hugged me. My mom then told me that what I did was very sweet.
In essense, I did what came natural to me, but only because of the understanding I had at the time.
A few nights ago, I was walking out of the grocery store holding some smokes. I saw a bum waiting outside asking for change. I asked him directly if he had eaten today, and he said no. With my understanding now, I know that if I gave him change it would probably go to booze or drugs. So I asked him to come with me and pick out something from the deli. He got a sandwich and a drink and ate it all before I paid for it. His happiness with getting food made me happy too, and I used those same principals I had when I was 7 years old to reach the conclusion that I should help him.
And again, not any point did I wonder if what I was doing is right or wrong.
So based on that example, the idea of being good or bad is totally pointless, as it all came down to my perception based on life experience.
A child will always want to pet an animal and feed it, the act of giving is inherent. We want to give good news rather than bad, we want to make people feel good, both for ourselves and for them. But your upbringing can change that. Under certain circumstances, a child who would normally want to pet an animal or feed it might want to cause it harm to feel superior, as they advance, they may even bring that mentality in to social situations by either physically harming another person for their lunch money or being verbally abusive. But again, it has nothing to do with being right or wrong, that equation never enters the mind. It all comes down to personal reflection based on life experiences.
Okay, this will look like story time, but bare with me. When I was 7 years old I was at the grocery store and I had just gotten a huge pack of gum. I rarely got gum so this was a treat for me. I couldn't open it until I got outside so I waited and waited, finally we were outside. I opened up the gum and that's when I saw an old man sitting next to a trash bag. He was holding a sign that says "Need food". Without hesitating I gave him my pack of gum.
Why did I do this:
1.) Life experience has shown me what it's like to live without food (my family was very poor at one point) so I understood the value of getting food.
2.) I understood that he didn't have money to get food and I did, we just got bags and bags of it but I knew not to ask my mom to give him that food because I understood that the food she got was for the entire family. The gum was mine alone so it was free to share in my mind.
3.) After giving him the gum, I never once thought if I was doing the right thing (or wrong) until a complete stranger came up to me in the parking lot and hugged me. My mom then told me that what I did was very sweet.
In essense, I did what came natural to me, but only because of the understanding I had at the time.
A few nights ago, I was walking out of the grocery store holding some smokes. I saw a bum waiting outside asking for change. I asked him directly if he had eaten today, and he said no. With my understanding now, I know that if I gave him change it would probably go to booze or drugs. So I asked him to come with me and pick out something from the deli. He got a sandwich and a drink and ate it all before I paid for it. His happiness with getting food made me happy too, and I used those same principals I had when I was 7 years old to reach the conclusion that I should help him.
And again, not any point did I wonder if what I was doing is right or wrong.
So based on that example, the idea of being good or bad is totally pointless, as it all came down to my perception based on life experience.
A child will always want to pet an animal and feed it, the act of giving is inherent. We want to give good news rather than bad, we want to make people feel good, both for ourselves and for them. But your upbringing can change that. Under certain circumstances, a child who would normally want to pet an animal or feed it might want to cause it harm to feel superior, as they advance, they may even bring that mentality in to social situations by either physically harming another person for their lunch money or being verbally abusive. But again, it has nothing to do with being right or wrong, that equation never enters the mind. It all comes down to personal reflection based on life experiences.