Homelessness - No to free lunch

I'm not a very big fan of charity, especially when it comes to random bouts of charity i.e. dropping a penny or two off to some homeless man on the side of the street. The solution for the homeless is not to hand them free money (which might just get spend in the end on liquor bottles or random accouterments), thus promoting an inefficient economy, but to open up work opportunities. I don't believe that all homeless want to bet on the fact that they can continue living on begging all day, but that some would rather prefer a sure, fixed cashflow.

Instead of donating them some money, why not donate to a government-managed "city funds" that provides wages in return for work done in city improvement projects, i.e. sweeping, collecting garbage, cleaning up graffiti, etc. There is plenty of work to be done in slums and most parts of dense cities (i.e. midtown New York).

The point is, money should never be given freely, but always for a cause and to benefit society. Tossing your pocket change to a man on the street doesn't do anyone any good.

EDIT:
After writing this, I did some research on such funds that support this cause. The most targeted towards self-sufficiency seems to be the DOE fund.

• DOE Fund
• Project Renewal
  
• Alpha Project
  

Settledness

Saturday I went to my friend's housewarming BBQ, which later turned out to be an engagement announcement party. The guy is very settled. Very homely 1 bedroom apartment in Jersey City, domesticated decor, all in all located in a very family-oriented neighborhood.

Experiencing that atmosphere brings plenty of mixed feelings - fear, envy, relief, etc. Fear because for this couple, the game of life is almost over. The guy is content w/ his job, they're happy in their relationship, they could probably die happy just like that. Thinking about that terrifies me, because it represents a death of your restless self into a new immutable self. The envy part is mostly due to the fact that they are living so comfortably and the fact that they are set in life. But then again, is comfort really a good thing?

State of Mind

It may sound obvious, but I've come to learn that regret is caused by a changing mindset. The mind has many states due to new experiences, changing environments, etc. In each state of mind, you'll have a different decision making process and be satisfied with completely different decisions. For example, someone who plays World of Warcraft 8 hours per day will be happy and satisfied to make the decision of not hanging out with friends or pursuing career ambitions. At the same time, careerist such as an investment banker will feel obligated to sacrifice leisure and family pursuits for job promotions.

So where does the regret part come in? In our youth, the state of mind is by no means stationary but is transient. When your state of mind changes (and thus your decision making process), you'll look back at past decisions made under a different mentality and regret them, since those decisions no longer make any sense to you. When we're young this doesn't really matter and should be accepted, but as one settles down and makes long-term decisions (such as marriage, decisions to move and switch career paths, etc.) it's important to stay within a consistent mindset and reduce any irrational wandering. Sometimes our state of mind may be temporarily affected by new experiences, such as influential words from a book we read or a compelling talk w/ a new friend. One should always be wary of these effects and stay clear-headed, while thinking independently.

As we ground ourselves and stabilize within certain bounds of a state of mind, regret will occur less frequently and we may even find some form of contentment.

B.S. Round 1

- post-interview thank you letters
- "face time"
- girls who hug all the time
- "best ____ ever!" or "most ____ I've ever heard in my life!"

Oneness

Enlightenment is obtained not from differentiating happiness as a positive, sadness as a negative, but rather accepting all the spectrum of life seamlessly as one whole. There is no differentiation but a mix of all the emotions and experiences of life into one, and the acceptance and appreciation of this as reality.

"Knowledge can be conveyed, but not wisdom. It can be found, it can be lived, it is possible to be carried by it, miracles can be performed with it, but it cannot be expressed in words and taught." ~Siddhartha, Herman Hesse

Knowledge and theory is gained from words, but the wisdom of this oneness can only be gained through experiencing every aspect of life.

Independent thinking

Leaders are able to think independently. In particular, they are experts in taking others' words with a grain of salt. As human beings, we have a tendency to be influenced and guided by others' opinions, especially when the person making the opinion appears to be one who knows what he's talking about.

The conflict lies in the fact that as social beings, we want to be able to not only to listen to others, but value their words. However, if you value the words too much, you may just start acting on them. The right approach is to maintain a balance - appreciate the opinion, but still be selfish in judging and critiquing the opinion, regardless of how sensical or good-intentioned it may be.