Same money
I just came back from Six Flags, and I stopped at a Taco Bell along the way to get some food. I spent a lot of money, fairly casually, like $10 for a frozen lemonade here, $20 for a refill cup there, and I’m not sweating it too much because I can afford it. While I was eating in the Taco Bell a homeless person came in with some scabs and a limp, and sat kind of near me but behind me. I felt anxious and worried, and so I kept looking out of the corner of my eye, and by the time I finished I saw that they were visibly very distraught. I have a somewhat irrational fear of being attacked or stabbed by a needle and so usually I try to keep my distance but I thought about it and it’s only like six dollars for a meal. That amount of money is completely trivial to me right now, but that person looked like they were struggling for meals and battling other things. If I had to choose between getting a bottle of soda at Six Flags, or this person getting lunch, that should never be a question. I ordered a meal and waited for it and they were about to leave, when I stopped and asked them if they were hungry, and they said yes. Thankfully right at that moment the meal was ready, and so I got it and gave it and left. Whenever I feel bad or frustrated it’s nice to do something nice for someone else, I feel like that helps me focus on good instead of bad. And also I think it’s incredibly important to recognize the incredible privilege that I have, the fact that six dollars means virtually nothing to me. But that could make such a difference to someone else. I think a lot about how when I was a kid some random person online bought me five dollars worth of in game currency on transformice, and because of that I was able to finally get the things I wasn’t able to before. The world is not kind therefore we must be kind in its place.