Quote Motion #4

“It is every man’s obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it”.                 -Albert Einstein

I take this insightful quote as a law – a spiritual law. If all the billionaires of the world could give the equivalent of all they have earned, at least on the local communities they find themselves, the world would inch everyday to paradise. But as simple as this statement is, performing it is one of the hardest things in life, reason why many wealthy folks are aversive to charity, and die in obscurity with little or contribution in whatever measure they could. Their families are the only beneficiaries of their wealth; the neighbour is a stranger.

Why should a man give into the world? Every man should give into the world because he owes it his or her subsistence. The world gave every man what he is, where he is, and what he has. He comes into it with nothing to find in abundance material and immaterial substance which make his life worthwhile.

And then what is the equivalent of what a man takes out of the world? It means, simply, the equal measure of whatever he has collected and benefited from the world – material and immaterial. Though not everyman in his lifetime acquired great wealth, but many have gotten real love, happiness, connections, knowledge and information, a crowd of meaningful relationships, and lots of opportunities to play out personal gifts and talents and be successful. Therefore, to give the equivalent of whether material or immaterial possessions would be to give the exact measure of, or at least something close to, the things life has given us. It also connotes giving things that produce an even greater measure of joy we derive from opportunities which the world has offered us.  A billionaire may not be able to share his money to people on the streets, but he can spend a deal on creating wonderful resorts or parks where the common people could have fun and tune in to the beauties of nature without charge. A music star, who has become wealthy by the people’s purchases of his or her albums, could make free works to be distributed freely to his fans. Such endeavour could be conceptualized so that it goes beyond just giving them music to listen, but offering life tips within the pages of the compact disc jacket. In like manner, an industrialist could find a way to provide jobs for the unqualified of society! 

We all, in one way or another, can give back to the world the same measure of joy, happiness, and prosperity we get from it. This way our world becomes better than we met it, and the important eternal virtue of giving and service would become constant features of the character of mankind.