Hello all, I hope this post finds you well. Many of you know that my lovely wife and I took a recent trip to Scotland, and some of you have been waiting to hear about it. Well, it was grand. I think this was one of the best trips we've ever made together, and between us we took oodles and gobs of photographs, some historical, some family-related, some just for fun and beauty. That's not really what I'm going to write about today, but it does provide a starting point for my thoughts.
Scotland has been populated for a great long time! Dana and I both have family history there going back many centuries, hers to the fellow who pretty much first controlled the Caithness - the northeastern part of the country. A Viking from Norway by the name of Gunni, who became the founder of the Clan Gunn. More on this later. We started our trip in Glasgow and worked our way around the highlands for two weeks.
I've been working through my pictures - sorting and selecting, and processing a few - and came across the first image below that I'd forgotten (which is why I take pictures!!). Since I've been in something of a philosophical frame of mind this week, and suddenly I had this post in my head.
Every age has had its takers and givers. 500-1000 years ago it was the kings and nobles, who pretty much robbed their people of everything and worked them to death, so they could live like, well, kings! In the 19th century it was the Robber Barrons, industrialists who did pretty much the same - they controlled the materials, means of production, and transport, and lived lavish lives at the expense of the common people who worked 12-16 hour days for scraps.
Nowadays, despite 150 years of laws in America to keep this from happening again, we have the 1% who own wealth more than the rest of us combined, with record corporate profits while income for the rest of us has been stagnant for 20 years.
But every age has also had its givers - those who saw need and put that ahead of themselves. Here is a little bit of a story about a giver. The image below is Glasgow cathedral, a Gothic structure that sits at the site where Glasgow was founded by Saint Mungo. There has been some kind of church on this site for over 1000 years, and this one, started in the 1300s, is a doozy.
It is a towering structure that just takes your breath, and we stayed so long poking around in the bowels of the place that we almost missed the last bus to take us back to the other side of town where we were staying. The main church doors are no longer used, and we entered through a side door behind the trees in this image. Just to the left of the entry, this memorial was built out from the side of the structure. It caught my eye and I had to stop and read it.
As you may guess, it was very difficult to read even standing right in front of it, but I read it to Dana and took this picture of it. If you click on the image above to see an enlargement, you'll be able to read much of the text, but this is what it says, as closely as I can render it like the original:
Somehow this comforted me a great deal. This wealthy man, at some point in his life, decided his wealth would better serve the community of people than to serve himself. And before his death 142 years ago (at age 89, no less - well done George!) he gave back what he had acquired from the people in his community and elsewhere. He gave a lot, but it doesn't need to be a lot. We can all do a little, and sometimes a little is all that someone else needs to get them going again - a little help, a little money, a smile, some encouragement. You never know the reach of the smallest of your gifts, but it will likely be further than you ever expected.
There are still those who give massively, and that is a very encouraging thing to be aware of. Bill and Melinda Gates have given away over $25 billion to philanthropic pursuits. Likewise Warren Buffet, who has challenged his fellow billionaires to give away at least half their fortune during their lives or before they pass away - a worthy challenge.
The author J.K. Rowling, who penned the Harry Potter stories, was dependent for many years on public assistance before she was published. Now, she has given away so much of her wealth, to give back to the system that supported her, that she has dropped out of the billionaire class, and I don't think she has a regretful thought about it.
Thanks to all you givers - a smile, an encouraging word, ten or a billion dollars or euros or pounds - you make the world a better place to be for all of us. And thank you, George Baillie, for being that rare example of self-sacrifice and benevolence. The world needs lots of that right now.
I know this isn't normally what or how I write in this blog, so thanks for humoring me as I share some deep thoughts. Next time, stories and pictures from Glasgow, Scotland! Best, Mark
#Scotland #giving #philanthropy #Glasgow #Glasgowcathedral
Scotland has been populated for a great long time! Dana and I both have family history there going back many centuries, hers to the fellow who pretty much first controlled the Caithness - the northeastern part of the country. A Viking from Norway by the name of Gunni, who became the founder of the Clan Gunn. More on this later. We started our trip in Glasgow and worked our way around the highlands for two weeks.
I've been working through my pictures - sorting and selecting, and processing a few - and came across the first image below that I'd forgotten (which is why I take pictures!!). Since I've been in something of a philosophical frame of mind this week, and suddenly I had this post in my head.
Every age has had its takers and givers. 500-1000 years ago it was the kings and nobles, who pretty much robbed their people of everything and worked them to death, so they could live like, well, kings! In the 19th century it was the Robber Barrons, industrialists who did pretty much the same - they controlled the materials, means of production, and transport, and lived lavish lives at the expense of the common people who worked 12-16 hour days for scraps.
Nowadays, despite 150 years of laws in America to keep this from happening again, we have the 1% who own wealth more than the rest of us combined, with record corporate profits while income for the rest of us has been stagnant for 20 years.
But every age has also had its givers - those who saw need and put that ahead of themselves. Here is a little bit of a story about a giver. The image below is Glasgow cathedral, a Gothic structure that sits at the site where Glasgow was founded by Saint Mungo. There has been some kind of church on this site for over 1000 years, and this one, started in the 1300s, is a doozy.
There are still those who give massively, and that is a very encouraging thing to be aware of. Bill and Melinda Gates have given away over $25 billion to philanthropic pursuits. Likewise Warren Buffet, who has challenged his fellow billionaires to give away at least half their fortune during their lives or before they pass away - a worthy challenge.
The author J.K. Rowling, who penned the Harry Potter stories, was dependent for many years on public assistance before she was published. Now, she has given away so much of her wealth, to give back to the system that supported her, that she has dropped out of the billionaire class, and I don't think she has a regretful thought about it.
Thanks to all you givers - a smile, an encouraging word, ten or a billion dollars or euros or pounds - you make the world a better place to be for all of us. And thank you, George Baillie, for being that rare example of self-sacrifice and benevolence. The world needs lots of that right now.
I know this isn't normally what or how I write in this blog, so thanks for humoring me as I share some deep thoughts. Next time, stories and pictures from Glasgow, Scotland! Best, Mark
#Scotland #giving #philanthropy #Glasgow #Glasgowcathedral
