Give and take? Why not give and give?

People always ask me why I give for free. My time, my efforts, (and cheesy as it sounds) my love. I always only respond the same thing: Because I can.

I'm thankful that it was never really embedded into my mind that I should always get something in return. Yeah, in this day and age, it does suck sometimes 'cause everyone thinks that way. It's like a 'you-get-what-you-give' mentality. And honestly, I hate that. I don't understand why people think they can only give what they expect to get back. "I'll only love him this much because that's only how much he'll love me." or "I'll only put this much effort into my work because my boss will only credit me by this much." or "I'll only talk to her when she needs me 'cause I know that's the only time she'll actually talk to me." I just don't get it.

And what's worse is, people tell other people NOT to give. They tell you, "Don't invest in him, he'll only hurt you." or "Stop doing things for free, start charging money for it." or "Don't give her advice, she won't even take it." I mean, come on people! The world is selfish enough as it is, do we need to add to the problem?

First of all, to truly love someone should be unconditional. No other motives. Whether he'll love you back or not; Whether he'll hurt you or not. Second, your time is YOUR time, but know that it is better spent with others. Life is short. Spending it all on your own is not as wonderful (and beneficial) as spending it with people. And lastly, what is so wrong with helping other people? So what if they don't take your advice? Sometimes, all they need is someone who will listen. And with the hustle and bustle of the city life, that's not easy to find.

I guess all I'm trying to say is that I wished people gave more. And if you understood me correctly, which I hope you did, obviously I didn't mean material things. (We've got enough charitable rich folks for that.)

And from what my best friend once shared with me: 'Sic transit gloria mundi,' which translates to 'Thus passes worldly glories,' I changed my perspective from give-and-take to give-and-give. In the end, none of our earthly possessions will matter. We need to start setting our priorities straight.