To Give or Not to Give

Living in the big city, I'm asked for money about 10 times a day. I probably give money about 2 out of the 10 times depending on how much money I have, how bad I feel, and how convinced I am. When I don't give money, I always feel a little bit bad.

About a week ago, I was running to catch a subway train. Right behind me was a guy with a cane leaping up the stairs. As we got close to the train, he used the cane to find his way to the subway door. During the ride, he began soliciting money as a blind person.

When I saw him, my mind started racing with questions. Was he actually blind and able to run up stairs very nimbly because he had developed his other senses extremly well? Or was he making a career out of pretending to be blind? Although it was a hard decision, I decided to not give money.

I thought I would never find out the answer, but I saw him on my way home talking with some people at the subway station with his eyes open. Clearly, he was not blind and I had made the right decision.

I've now decided to move the giving ratio to .5/10 and focus on giving in other ways.