Well I wouldn't say you failed. Failure implies you were some how obligated.
I like you you phrase it "so far" implying its a possibility lol.
I am obligated. Noblesse Oblige. I am obligated to help those in my community as much as I realistically can. That's a part of the social contract. That's what makes it a community. That's what makes us human. I failed to uphold my end of the bargain in a timely manner.
I like to think I've made up for that failure, for the record. I'd like to think I've far exceeded my obligations. However, I should have done more and done it sooner.
And, yeah... "So far..." You never really know what you're going to get from a crowd. You see some strange shit from the stage.
In my experience with wealthy people(and I have quite a lot of it, I pretty much exclusively serviced the wealthy for many many years) You have gone far above and beyond what I have ever heard of any of them doing. So if its a societal expectation then you can only compare yourself to others with similar obligations. So I'd say you probably are doing okay on, Noblesse Oblige.
I like to think so and she's in the studio, so is unlikely to see this.
In the past, I used to sometimes help their mother out with cash or even food. Now that's a pride damaging experience but I've always made it a point to enable people to keep their dignity. I am not blind and could see them struggle - and made quiet offers to help. I'm not actually sure if anyone knows about that (locally) besides the people involved - not even the kids. I've never brought it up with them
I am not doing what I'm doing because I want praise. I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do.
A quote has stuck with me, for a very long time. I'm not sure of the source, or even if it's verbatim. "Integrity is doing the right thing, even when nobody is watching."
It's a very long story, and today is not the day that I share it. I haven't always been this way. There are times in my past where I've not maintained my integrity and mindfulness. There are times when I've done the wrong thing - knowingly and willfully.
I have grown into the person that I am. I haven't always been this person. I am pretty damned happy with the person I have grown to be.
So, some of my efforts to maintain my integrity are a bit over the top and to excess. My social contract would have been filled by simply handing them a few more bucks here and there and offering her a job without actually taking any interest to make sure she was in a position to accept it.
That'd have met my end of the bargain, and probably more so.
But... As I said, I haven't always had integrity and some of what I do could be interpreted as me trying to make up for past mistakes. What it really is, I prefer to think, is that I've simply learned from my mistakes and choose to not repeat them.
I am the person I am because of the many mistakes I've made, and those experiences influenced me to be a better person today. I'm just fortunate enough to be in a position where I can attempt to do significantly better than I did in the past.
Is this making any sense? LOL It's not easy to explain and I am not sure I'm expressing it well - and I'm not even sure I'm being completely introspective and honest with myself.
I usually try to be pretty open about myself, where applicable. As per yesterday's article, it can be partially attributed to ego. I'd like to think I'm a good example and a good inspiration. Truthfully, that's ego.
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