Culture of charity: the new normal of today
Good deeds can save not only the person they help. More often than not, they save us.
"Pay yourself first and send a donation to the Armed Forces of Ukraine" - this is how a modern interpretation of the well-known principle of personal finance will sound today.
Since the beginning of the full-scale crisis, it has become clear to all of us that life will never be the same again. Yesterday, it would seem, charity was a personal thing for everyone, but today donations are a matter of whether our common tomorrow will come. Thousands of Ukrainians have lost their jobs, their savings and even their homes because of the war, but they have not stopped financially supporting the army and helping those who are in even more difficult situations.
That's right, the culture of charity has entered the everyday life of every Ukrainian.
Many people call the culture of charity a habit of helping, but in reality, a culture takes much longer to form than a simple habit. However, its impact on both the individual and the nation cannot be compared to that of a single habit. After all, culture is what you develop and nurture inside yourself and in society so that it can develop a new society and new us in the future.
In other words, the culture of charity is a responsible choice to make one's own contribution to solving social problems in order to further develop a safe and progressive environment.
Selfless help to one's neighbor or anyone in need has always been the foundation of kindness and humanity around the world. Charity is one of the forms of this selfless help and often becomes a shoulder of support, and sometimes even a "lifeline" and a chance for a new life.
By the culture of charity, we mean not only financial support and donations; it is something much more. Investing not only money but also your time, knowledge and involvement in good causes is the culture of a mentally healthy nation.
Even spreading the word about charity and telling our surroundings that only we can create a comfortable and safe world around us is a great contribution to the culture of charity.
So who really influences the spread of the culture of charity?
Volunteers? Charitable foundations? Government officials or large business owners who invest in charity?
Or maybe it is each of us? Remember that big changes around us begin within us. Just as a mechanical watch will stop if one small part breaks, so too can one person carrying out a charitable mission help inspire hundreds of others and change the culture of one nation.
In today's world, the concept of charity is increasingly associated with large businesses or individual wealthy humans and special charitable foundations. The help they provide is undoubtedly valuable and respected in society, although there are many names among them that we may never know.
But in reality, charity is one small act of each of us. Sending a symbolic amount of money and posting a post about helping a person with a serious illness, picking up trash after yourself or someone else in the park, giving up a seat on the bus to a soldier... all of this seems insignificant and doesn't seem to have much impact, but in fact, it is this minimum that shapes a new culture and, at the same time, a new future.
Charity and war.
We live in times when it is difficult to rely on the experience of previous generations. Today, we write every letter of future history by ourselves, and of course, we have no idea how to do it on the right way.
Charity today is not only about doing good and creating a new world around us. Modern charity today is about fighting the evil.
Can assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine be called charity?
Some would say that financing the armed forces is financing death; others would say it is defending yourself and your country. In our case, it is not so much a benefit as a necessity for survival and a fight for the future of our children and our nation.
The question is quite difficult and philosophical, it has no right or wrong answer and makes us think, but let each of us decide for ourselves... The only thing we are 100% sure of is that our defenders need our support, and ignoring their needs today can cost us our lives or the lives of our families tomorrow.
The main thing is not to lose the humanity inside and remember that under any circumstances, good always triumphs over evil.
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