Do you feel you are generous?

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I am not. I am not greedy or myser, but I don’t feel capable of giving to others, to protect others, which is the real meaning of generosity. To give money, when money is required by the needy, is only a consequence of richness of the soul. Now in the soul I am poor. I do not belong to the human dialogue. The one who has been allotted by nature or environment with abundance of goods (emotions, strenghth of character, courage, security), can give and protect. The one who lived only on the edge of life, always threatened in his vital space can only take shelter in his burrow and go out only to beg. I am not proud of this, but it is part of misfortune, misfortune in its deepest meaning. Not to be able to give and protect is the gratest misfortune in life.

the concept of "giving for no reason to feel good" is a logical paradox.
if you give for no reason, you feel good; this is the reason you gave for, and now its not no reason; how can you feel good?

I'm selfish.

I will not go out of my way to help others, but I will allow others to go out of their way to help me. In fact I rely on others to go out of their way to help me.

I take to survive, I take to make things easier, to prevent insanity. I'll never be a protector, I'm the protected and I cower behind others because I can't face reality.

I am generous but not to the point where I am being taken advantage of.

I will give money to make people go away. Money is a manmade construct with no real meaning anyway, so I don't care much about it and never did. I guess that comes from the feeling that there will always be more money if I feel like going out there and getting it. I try to watch it though. I know that I can be taken advantage of.

When i am making a significant amount of money, I will donate money to starving kids in Africa. Not to be generous or feel good or w/e, but because it will be nothing for me to give away a few dollars, but to the kid who gets to eat, its something huge. Its like being over 100% efficient.

I must confess that I wanted to delete the post. Not that I did't mean what I said but I perhaps it was a convoluted way to wail.

It's part of my misfortune that I don't understand well double negations.

I used to be so generous that I cared more about others than myself.

However,that isn't the case now,although I'm DEFINATELY not selfish or greedy.


-SpaceCase

I don't like giving to those who can help themselves. I'm actually quite sick of everyone, left and right, asking me for everything - my money, my time, etc. Me tossing a poor person a dollar isn't solving a damn thing. That'll be spent by the end of the hour and he'll be on the street the next day to repeat.

I share with friends who are capable of sharing back. Reason I say this is not out of selfishness (I'm not greedy, I dont buy anything because I'm not into possession of much) but because I've known friends who are lazy and irresponsible and I dont want to contribute to that behaviour.

Nietzsche used to say he was unhappy when he gave alms and unhappy when he didn’t. I feel the same. Anyhow I prefer to give to needy persons that I know personally. As for beggars, I meet some one or two hundreds a day, they are really everywhere. Probably in some country (not India) they are repressed. In one year that I spent in the US I never met one.

I am faithful to some beggars (particularly a gypsie with three children).
Had I to give large sums I would prefer some organizations like Amnesty International.

I don't think anyone can be really altruistic. There has got to be a cause behind their actions. I won't give money to anyone I know personally... but that is because I don't want them coming back to me again to ask for money again. I also don't lend out money unless I can afford to lose it. That usually means I don't lend out money.

I will give donations to christian children's fund or participate in walk-a-thons but that's the extent of my generosity.

I give away A LOT of things. I buy people things, and stuff, i'm always thinking of my friends and loved ones. If it makes someone happy, it might make their day. I spent about $80 on mum after Meg passed away to help her cheer up a bit, she was the one that had her put down so it was the worst for her.

I usually give to charaties, sometimes I don't have coins or need them for something else. The SPCA is a charity that I donate to the most.

I'm not a rich woman, but all that glitters is not gold.

Like you, I used to care more about others, but this was through a feeling of self-worthlessnes.

Now I realise that was an error and that everyone, including myself should be considered equal. So as it's said; do unto others as you would will them do for you.

Even this has it's limits though. As in those who would will others into slavery.

when i give things, i feel like i'm more obliged than 'wanting to feel good for giving'

Is the problem that it is scary to give, it puts us in an unnerving place, because then a connection is created between the giver and the recipient?
I am generous but probably in a non-altruistic way. I give a little (of my time, of a little money) because it helps me feel connected to people. The AS pulls me away from connections yet I enjoy the feelings of connection. It is like a balancing act, a tug-of-war.

It’s a much more complicated problem that one may think. We live in a system where all is unfair, and we all live on this unfairness. We all buy shoes manifactured by Chinese children or semislave laborers (of the kind described by Dickens in Oliver Twist and in much literature of the past). I know we can’t do anything about it.

There is a Peruvian woman who comes to keep my flat clean. She is alone in this city where I live. Her parents are divorced, poor people, she sends them money; she has to survive economically, and, also, in some way, psychologically. She lives most on the money I give her. I pay her more than other people would do (I can do it). Should I give her more? She has come here in the last two years and a half. She is a teacher but she can’t do anything as a teacher in her country nor here for that. Being alone she talks of all her troubles and hopes. How far should I go in helping her? It’s not only a problem of stinginess. In that I am not stingy. I also realize that while I am unhappy for very different reasons, and apart from my revenue, I can rely on cultural consumptions that are denied to her and will always be denied to her.

This holds for many other situations. Should we be satisfied with what the market dictates when we give a salary? In most cases we do just that and we sleep well.