This past weekend we had not one program but two! We gathered at Maureen's on Saturday evening and discussed the Big Questions. Some of us wanted to know the meaning of life. Others were concerned with relationships, and still others with world events and how we can affect them.
Together we wove a lovely tapestry of ideas and enjoyed the warmth and spiritual uplift of these Reflection conversations, led by Dr. Kurt Johnson. It reminds me of what we used to have in the other organization that we pulled away from, before all the power grabbing and character assassination began. But this is a circle of friends and we have known some of them for 20 years, and I'm just so glad that we are able to continue to meet with them and do constructive things, hold discussions, maybe branch out into some kind of ethical action, and most important, keep our friendships with them intact and growing.
The next day we had a program at the Brooklyn Public Library Kensington branch. The theme was Giving. Adriana spoke about Bill Clinton's book, Giving and about the things some of the wealthiest people are doing to make a better world. Tony read The Giving Tree, which brought him to tears. It is a sweet story of a completely unselfish tree that gives everything she has to a little boy who seems to always be asking for something. I actually think it is a model of too much giving but perhaps the tree is a parent. In that case its excessive giving makes some sense, though even parents have to eventually draw the line and get a child to move out, get a job, and do things for himself.
I discussed Rambam's Ladder, Maimonides' 8 step hierarchy of giving, climbing up toward righteousness. He placed giving begrudgingly on the lowest step of the ladder, and giving a poor person the wherewithal to pull himself out of poverty (for instance helping him find a job) as the highest form of charity. Just below the highest form of "teaching a man to fish" is completely anonymous giving. I discussed Maimonides' ideas from the viewpoint of a modern fundraiser and showed where his ideas fit in and where they clash with what we know about the psychology of giving. My audience was entertained by the "Vampires and Charity" story, where a scientist observed that vampire bats sometimes drink more blood than they need and then will give it away to other bats, but only when asked, and mostly only to those bats who have given them blood in the past. (Tony interjected that this is how the Red Cross got started, which cracked everyone up).
At the end I showed them the photo of the young man from Boston who was panhandling near Faneuil Hall last summer. I asked whether his cause was worthy and whether anyone would donate to him. In fact, because he was up front about his wishes and wasn't trying to fool anyone, I gave him a dollar and took his picture.
We have a planning meeting on Dec. 2nd, another program on Dec. 16th, a Reflection on the 22nd, and a book club discussion on January 6th. We also have a Winter Party coming up on Jan. 12th. So for a tiny group of about 22 people with only 10-12 active members, we are really going places and doing things. I hope it will grow but in the meantime I am happy that such a small group is able to accomplish so much.
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