Acquiring vs Contributing

If industrialism has trained us to do one thing it has pushed us to believe that we live in a world of scarcity. Too many of us fall into this trap of accumulating as much as we can while we can.

It’s survival of the fittest: Get a degree, find a job, buy a house, gain some status, etc., etc…

And soon, we realize that it isn’t enough and we forget, rather quickly, what’s it all for in the first place.

Stumped, we start the cycle again and think we need to aim higher. A better degree, a better job, a better house, better status…and then we will make ourselves happy.

It’s a vicious cycle. One that we make worst by choosing to live in a deficit of time, energy and money.

You are more than a collection of artifacts and status symbols. You are what you contribute.

Acquiring more doesn’t mean you are being more.

Instead of asking, “What is it that I want next?” perhaps a better question is, “How can I help someone do something they never thought was possible?”

We don’t need to acquire more money or status to contribute to things that matter, things that are important.

“Contribute. Contribute. Contribute.” can be our call to go forward.