Over at Daily Stoic, we're trying to come together and feed THREE MILLION people! Rather than give in to the materialism and selfishness of Cyber Monday, we're teaming with Feeding America to contribute to something larger than ourselves.
Every dollar we raise provides 10 meals to those who need it. Read on for more info or head here to donate now!
We got together with family. We reminded ourselves what was important. We enjoyed the bounties of the Earth. Perhaps when we took the rolls out of the oven we noted, as Marcus Aurelius did in Meditations, the way the bread cracks open on top, a nod to nature's inadvertence.
We gave thanks.
And the next day millions of us disregarded all of our appreciation for the good things we've been given in life—food, family, and friends—to lose ourselves in a frenzy of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. We traded presence for presents, being with family…for fighting with strangers to get a better spot in line for more stuff we don't need.
It's crazy.
What would the world look like if instead we followed the advice Marcus often gave himself—to actively help others, to lend a hand, to do his part. The great fortune of his life, he says at one point in Meditations, is not just that he himself has never known serious want, it's that he's been lucky enough to be able to help so many people. The world held up its part of the deal, and he tried to do the same.
If you've been blessed, be a blessing!
Which is why, for the fifth year now, we are inviting you to join us in helping people, not engaging in overindulgence in deals online. You enjoyed a day of fullness. But not everyone knows that feeling these days. In fact, many people are experiencing the exact opposite. More than 757 million people around the globe go to bed hungry every night. More than 47.4 million people in America are food insecure, including more than 14 million children.
Natasha and her 2-year-old daughter Braeleigh (pictured) are two of nearly 6,500 men, women, and children who received turkeys and the fixings to celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving meal in their homes thanks to Thanksgiving Angels, supported by Feeding America.
This is a tragedy. It is also an opportunity…and an obligation. It is our duty to help others. To serve others. To illustrate those virtues of courage and justice toward and for and through others. To help people from going hungry. To alleviate someone's worry and fear. To put food on their table.
We didn't quite hit our goal of 3 million meals, but we are keeping that goal this year with the hopes you can help us get there. We are personally putting up the first $30,000, with our overall goal to raise $300,000. Every dollar we raise provides 10 meals, so if we hit our goal, that will be three MILLION meals.
Just head over to dailystoic.com/feeding—together, we can make a significant dent in a big problem.
Let us be good Stoics today and prove that we don't just talk about this philosophy—we live it.
P.S. If you live outside the U.S., check out Action Against Hunger—the global humanitarian organization that fights against hunger across nearly 50 countries.
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