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The Getful Dead. SA Newsletter Issue 51: 26 Jun 2012
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Greetings!
I was reminded of a story someone told a long time ago. There was a rich man who lived at the top of a street. Down the street lived a row of relatively poorer folk. One day, this rich man decided to start giving ten dollars to the occupants of the first house down the street. He did this every day, and the occupants of the first house seemed very grateful to him. They looked forward eagerly to the time he walked past their home, and greeted him with big smiles and pleasant conversation. After a month, the rich man decided that the time had come for him to start giving ten dollars every day to the occupants of the second house down the street. As he walked past the first house and proceeded to give ten dollars to the occupants of the second house, the occupants of the first house shook their fists at him and yelled "You dirty scoundrel! Where's our ten dollars?" People tend to focus on getting, and are not even grateful to those who have given them what they want. Harvey Mackay once quoted someone as saying "Gratitude is the least deeply felt of all human emotions". If that is the case, then do good because we want to be good, and don't expect gratitude in return. We should encourage gratitude, but not expect it. Perhaps one day people will learn the real value of being grateful. It keeps us humble and puts our achievements in proper perspective! 
One of the "Cathy" comic strips depicted Cathy and Irving discussing various items they'd acquired:
'Safari clothes that will never be near a jungle.'
'Aerobic footwear that will never set foot in an aerobics class.'
'Deep-sea dive watch that will never get damp.'
'Keys to a four-wheel-drive vehicle that will never experience a hill.'
'Architectural magazines we don't read filled with pictures of furniture we don't like.'
'Financial strategy software keyed to a checkbook that's lost somewhere under a computer no one knows how to work.'
'Art poster from an exhibit we never went to of an artist we never heard of.'
Finally, as both Cathy and Irving stand with blank stares, one says to the other: 'Abstract materialism has arrived.' to which the other replies: 'We've moved past the things we want and need and are buying those things that have nothing to do with our lives'.
Getting has never been and should never be an end in itself. We are always getting in the hope that it wold make us feel more fulfilled, as if having more would ratify our existence as human beings. Nothing could be further from the truth! Hoarding, opulence and extravagance are symptoms of a deadly disease I call EMPTINESS. This disease is accompanied by fear, worry, anxiety and a host of other accompanying ailments. Sadly, society equates having more with having achieved greater success. Although many verbally eschew such materialism, it has gone so deep into the collective consciousness that its effects wreak havoc in most people's lives.
What are you going to do about that? Reflect on this and determine to be a GIVER rather than being one of the Getful Dead. I guarantee you that your life and your business will definitely see an upturn as a result! Go well!
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