When we hear of someone winning the lottery, we often assume that they will be set for life, maybe help their family out, or maybe spend all the money on themselves. Some will quit their job depending on how much they win while some may keep on working, investing the money wisely to secure their future. Regardless of how lottery winners spend their money, one man in Washington state is investing the money in the high school he works for. This man won about $3.4 million five years ago in the state lottery and never stopped working at the high school. He is a janitor at the school during the school day, and afterwards, coaches the track and field team. He never even considered quitting his job even though he doesn't have to work because he enjoys what he does and it keeps him busy. His biggest enjoyment comes from coaching however and this year is donating $40,000 of his money to putting in a new track for the team. He said he knew what he would do with the money before he even won. This year he plans on retiring and then running for the school board.
In this day and age, it is heart warming to see the generosity of people when they come into money. There are not many people these days with as generous a heart as this man from Washington. Don't get me wrong, anyone who gives of themselves either monetarily or through their actions is to be commended. It is even more refreshing to hear of these stories in the media, granted, not main stream media, but it is still being reported nonetheless. In these current economic times when we are all struggling to make ends meet with rising gas and food prices and less money coming in, it is morale booster when someone shows their big heart and gives to others regardless of what it is. It is not easy to give, but it sure feels good when you do. People's mentality these days is turned more towards themselves than towards their community and the needs of others. We are taught from an early age that we must mainly look out for ourselves and make sure that our future is secure. But what if we secure our future? What happens then? Being generous starts when your future is not secure and should continue right on through. If we start out with the mentality of selfishness, then that mentality will be hard to change when we have enough to live off of comfortably.
If you have a computer and are reading this, it means that you have the ability to be generous. We often times fill our lives with frivolous activites and items that in the long wrong won't mean a damn. Even if we don't have extra money to give to a charity or a cause, we could always find time to help others and give of ourselves physically. In this world, if more of us don't start giving our time or money to help others, more and more people will suffer. Funding for charities and social programs are being cut because of budget restrictions and there is less money to go around for everyone. The only way we can turn this around is getting up and getting out there to help make a difference. Is it easy? No, especially if you have a full time job and work long hours, but if you start giving one hour of your time a week to helping others, it will become a habit and part of your weekly routine. It may even increase to include more time helping others. In any case, the weekend is upon us and hopefully none of us will experience any ravaging storms. Lets all try and enjoy life a little bit and take a little time this weekend to help and friend, neighbor, or stranger out in some way, be it big or small.
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