Charity begins... with money.

Interestingly, it was during the time that i had money (or thought i did)  that I learned the most about myself.  I learned the value of charity.  It was during the years that I had an abundance of income that I learned that people don't need to be homeless to be needy.
During the years that I was living with a good income, I realized  that a lot of the people around me weren't living as glamorously as me.  I started giving to charity on a broad spectrum, and more importantly, started paying a lot more attention to those around me who perhaps weren't fairing as welll as me.
One of my favorite things to do was to go out to dinner and pick up the check(s) of someone else in the restaurant who I thought could use a good day.
For example- one night, I was out to eat at a great little Italian place when the woman at the table next to me starting telling her girlfriend about the every day stresses of her job teaching at a catholic school, and her own financial hardships.  My husband and I asked the waiter to cover their check and add the total to our own. 
It was SO satisfying to watch the happiness and surprise in another adult's face that we knew nothing about.
We did this a lot during our time with money. It is great soul-food to do things like this when you can.
I'm glad I went through that phase, because it has made me grateful and gracious now when I find myself on the receiving end.
Yesterday, a girlfriend of mine that I know from grammar school stopped by to give me a couple of vhs movies for the boys (yes, vhs, lol).  In one breath, she handed me the bag of movies and slipped me a $100 dollar bill. I choked up for a second and  refused, upon which she quickly argued that she felt bad that she never made it for the boy's birthday party, and that it was the least she could do (or something to that effect).  She and I both knew that that was complete and utter bullshit. No, she didn't make it to the birthday party last May- if I remember correctly, her father in law had been rushed to the hospital that day.  But I do need the money, and she's got a pretty good handle on her finances right now. So the exchange took place as gracefully as we could both muster.