Seasonal Giving is Good But Friendship is Better

Nothing signals the holidays quite like the Salvation Army bell and bucket at the front of every retail establishment.  Behind the jingle and the smile stands a reality which is far from festive.  Unfortunately, many of our friends will spend the holiday season on the streets and in crowded shelters.

 

Although seasonal giving is good it is not good enough.  So here is an idea to think about while you are infused with the spirit of generosity.  By all means give your money to support organizations which provide support for the homeless.  However, institutions alone are not enough.  Each homeless person is an individual with a life history.  Because of this it takes personal friendship to really make a difference.  So step out of your comfort zone and make personal contact with a homeless person this Christmas.  You can do it.  Yes you can.

 

I have done this and it has transformed my life for the better.  Such cross class friendships have touched me deeply and opened my life in ways I never imagined.  I hope that you will follow this blog and open yourself up to the 'theory' of cross class friendship.  Beyond this I hope you will take a step out of your social comfort zone and actually connect with someone on the other side of the economic line.  Whether it  happens at Christmas or not isn't really important.  Not when it happens but that it happens is the important thing.

In the movie Aladdin, the Genie character voiced by Robin Williams says to Aladdin, "You ain't never had a friend like me."  He was right.  Go ahead, reach out to a homeless person.  I think you will find that you have never had such a friend.

Click Here to purchase an exciting new book about cross class friendship

 



The Free Store is a Radical Social Experiment

The Free Store is a place to bring what you want and take what you need. It is an attempt to put into action one of the great principles of one of history's great radicals, "Freely you have received, freely give." (Jesus) In taking money out of the process of exchanging goods we are free to focus on making friends and building relationships. As our friend James Willamor tweeted recently, "I think bartering, sharing, and freely giving are the better options. Giving & accepting money is so cold and non-relational; a last resort."

The Free Store is attempting to challenge common notions of wealth and poverty and to create a space where people of diverse economic classes can connect with one another. In America breaking through class barriers is every bit as challenging and yet just as important as breaking through racial barriers. In crossing the economic divide we all can discover the mutual benefits of class cultural diversity and friendship.

Enough goods are produced in our world today that every person could potentially have everything they need to live but money creates scarcity. In taking money out of the equation The Free Store is attempting a radical social experiment to see what good might come out of a free exchange between classes of people that would normally not connect!

The Free Store is not primarly about the stuff that we give away. It is really about the relationships of mutual concern and support between people that don't normally mingle in our class segregated society.