Good in "45"?

This morning I outlined the number 45 with the hearts I am selling in support of a local organization in Austin, TX. Twenty minutes later I looked at the photo I posted and realized, wait, I just made the number “45” in hearts. And for a minute I thought someone may think that I’m in support of the current president he-who-must-not-be-named and some of us just call 45...

But there is one thing I keep saying to people and in conversations I keep having is this, if there is one good thing that came from electing this person into presidency (yea, I’m saying there is something good), is that aside from the wave of evil, there is a wave of good coming along. Growing up I was always taught to just do good, from my mother, to my grandparents, you do good. Not because you expect something in return, but because that is just the right thing to do.

And at some point, maybe it was attending a business school or just the society that we’re in, doing good meant “well, how are you going to make money off of this?” And when the conversation comes to money, I shut down. I despise it. I believe it to be an idea made by humans once to create order and is now used to have power over others. It’s stupid. There was almost like a, I can’t do good because if I’m doing good that means I have to expect something in return. That is how my mind started thinking. I needed to stop.

Even as I make my journey across the US and I tell people, “I’m traveling and volunteering at different organizations, also crocheting” I would say 95% of the time I get a ‘oh, you’re writing everything down, right? Oh, you’re gonna write a book, make a movie, be rich, change the world.’ Ahhhh. So I stopped listening to those comments. Because in all reality, I’m doing what I am doing because for me, at this present time, it feels like the right thing to do, that’s it. Am I keeping notes? Yes. Am I keeping a journal? Yes, but that’s something I’ve been trying to do regardless of what I Was doing with my life. Doing good because it is the right thing to do. That’s it.

So when it comes to the money, to show you how much I really don’t care for it, I’ve been selling these little hearts for $1.99. A dollar of each one will go towards the organization I’m currently trying to fundraise for. And then there are shipping costs, material costs, and etsy apparently has a bajillion fees I didn’t know were charged (live and we learn). So after all is said and done, I’m really not making anything off these hearts. BUT what I am reaching is my goal of $100 to donate to the organization. And now you may ask, well if you despise money, why are you trying to raise money?

Because I’m also not stupid. The way society is currently set up, money does equal power. And for me, the money I am able to acquire I want to give to organizations I want to have power in this society -- that means homeless shelters, soup kitchens, food banks, in the arts, doing good, creating a different world, organizations that are here to tell other humans that they do matter, that we all are humans, and that all humans have a right to live and prosper and LIVE.

So with that said, I unintentionally made the number “45” in hearts to show how much more I needed to sell, but now it means that yes, this dude is an asshole, he’s evil, the whole administration is evil. But, good will always overcome evil. It seems like some have forgotten their history lessons.