Godless Grace

                                                        Godless Grace Foundation

Supporting a Better World Through Humanistic Fundraising

It am honoured  be a part of the Godless Grace Foundation, founded by my wonderful friend David Orenstein from New York, and to be a member of the board of trustees.  
David and I were talking this year about how we both felt about the "charities" that prevail, and what we both feel about the acts of giving.
There is a vast difference between being a "charity" and being "charitable"!
I have always been acutely aware of the buzz I get when I have been able to "give" something or do something for someone. Or even the buzz I get when I have witnessed beautiful unselfish acts by others. Sometimes we might feel a bit uncomfortable saying such a thing, it does sound a bit smug!
Now nobody on the planet could accuse me of being Pollyanna! In fact I am quite feisty and often "arsy" and very difficult,  but I have always experienced a real "lift" from these  acts of kindness  which feel almost physical!
The much quoted  cliche that tells us that "It is better to give than to receive" might make us cringe, probably  because often it is people of a religious persuasion who lay claim to these kind of insights!
But of course that is nonsense! religion has nothing at all to do with it! They do not have the monopoly on kindness!
Being HUMAN is what it is all about!
We are, despite the daily acts of barbarism we hear of daily in the popular press, a benevolent species! We WANT to be good to each other, we have an altruistic core,  also we have learned  that to get along with our fellow beings it is in our best interest! It is about survival.
So perhaps we would feel more comfortable being "givers" if we understood that actually our altruism is really quite selfish!
Knowing for example that although we do get an abundance  of  "feel-good chemicals"in our brain when someone is kind or  compassionate towards us, definitely enhancing our wellbeing, science tells us that we get a  far greater benefit, in fact a positive avalanche if those chemicals when we "give" something or do something for some else, or even if we witness those kind acts, not only will that enhance our wellbeing, but it is shown to  benefit our health and even prolong our lives!  
And unlike being the recipients of things, being able to give is something we can have all the time!
So I wonder why wouldn't we want to  tap into that free "pharmacy" that is readily available to us thanks to our evolved humanity!
I can think of hundreds of wonderful acts that I have witnessed by others that have impressed and inspired me! 
I remember my lovely older daughter, who found herself for a while working as the site secretary to a building company, given the job of building a new operating theatre for the Royal Marsden hospital, one of the greatest cancer hospitals in the world. She was the only girl among 200 builders, architects etc. As they worked, and witnessed the wonderful work of that hospital and saw the patients come and go, they were so moved that they began all sorts of fund raising activities to support the hospital. I am sure that sort of thing happens all the time when decent people actually see the reality of needs. 
But what they DON"T see is that before they put the final plasterboards  on those walls of the operating theatre, when they had installed all the pipes and wires that would be needed , every one of those tough builders along with my daughter wrote personal messages of encouragement and hope for every patient  that passed through that theatre. No one knew they were there.
I remember my son's Mother in law, Enid,  who died sadly after a long battle with cancer.She was a brave and fun lady, who had very little materially. Her funeral was probably the most "uplifting" I have ever been to - not religious but with true sentiments. Her son said a few words about her and we sang "Thank you for the music" he told us that his Mother had left just enough money for everyone to go and have a drink on her afterwards, but she also asked that everybody at her   funeral  went from there that day and each did two kind acts for  other human beings in her name. We all went from the funeral with a "buzz" and got more of a buzz when we honoured those wishes!
Later I was asked to speak at a friends funeral and I suggested the same thing, everyone felt a lift at the idea. I wonder how many people have benefitted from Enid's kindness? The knock on effect could be enormous!
I think about my youngest son who, though disabled,  shares his little bit  of money with his favourite animal sanctuaries and supports anything and everything that he possibly can.
My husband who very often does a free art "workshop" for patients in a local hospice and tells us how wonderful it is to see  those patients create something beautiful to lift their "spirits"
When I was teaching in Yorkshire a while ago, I came across a lovely little cafe where they encouraged everyone to "pay it forward" to pay for someone else to have something to eat!They also have a flower shop attatched , and they had a scheme where you could donate a little money  so that someone could pay for  funeral flowers  who perhaps couldn't afford them. It was a very uplifting and happy little place!
None of these  people acted  in the name of any god, but because it was  just natural  and uplifting to do so! 
I bet everyone reading this can think of many wonderful acts by ordinary people just because they are human!
And yet we continue to give endless charitable money to religious organisations!! Secular activities  are not nearly as recognised.
That is why the "Godless Grace foundation" is unique and exciting. There are so many wonderful people who are making our world a richer and nicer place.
We don't need a religion to show us how to be kind,we just need to be human beings!

www.ggfsupport.org