Our net worth is an IOU to the universe. Our grandchildren are holding the receipt.
This realization changes the meaning of everything you're doing.
Most of us live in two worlds at once, baffled and confused. We’ve never had more comfort, reach, and opportunity. And yet it’s never felt harder just to breathe.
We scroll past disasters between meetings, thankful it's not on our doorstep, terrified that one day it will be.
We sense our power to change things. But we’re afraid to lose ground in a race we inherited at birth, with a scoreboard built on the biggest fictions we still believe.
We plan to give back someday when things feel secure. They rarely do.
So we keep running. Building. Trying to matter. Loudly amassing a score to represent what we've blindly extracted from the Earth. Quietly wondering what any of it is for.
Trading our consciousness today for an option that loses value with each moment.
We create for output now, not expression. We donate for tax credits now, not relief.
And we're slowly losing what it means to feel human.
To stay connected to what's been hidden by our own inattention and pursuit.
Real generosity cannot be faked. It is one of the last things that still feels human. Something even AI will never learn.
To give what is naturally yours: Attention. Forgiveness. Presence. And yes, money works too, if that's what you have to give.
Real generosity is simple and transparent. A way to let something flow again, while we still can.
We don’t need to fix the world overnight. We can start by loosening our grip. By giving what the world can’t buy and seldom values.
Maybe that’s the balance we’re missing. Giving what's real and true within us. Letting go of what's transient and illusory, of what disappears when we do.
You can start today from where you are. Ask yourself this:
What could I give that would make me feel more connected to the world around me?
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Quote by Bill Plotkin, a psychologist, wilderness guide, and writer helping people rediscover meaning through direct relationship with the natural world.
