drink with your friends. You're made to feel guilty that you're out enjoying yourself while people in the World are suffering so you throw your loose coins in the bucket. But, why should you have to feel guilty because you've worked hard to earn enough for a night out?

You're not giving your money out of generosity. You don't feel any sense of pride or satis

More than ever nowadays, we seem to hear about some charity or some good cause and are urged to give it our support but has the World really become a more generous place or is everybody just feeling more guilty?

It's impossible to read a newspaper or magazine nowadays without seeing an advert for a charity that's after your support. Our TV screens are also filled with pictures of death and suffering that "only you" can stop. Here in the UK, you can't even go for a quiet drink in a pub or a bar without being approached by somebody shaking a charity bucket emblazoned with the phrase "Give Generously".

There lies the problem. How many people are actually "giving generously"? In my book, generosity means the desire to give to others by your own freewill without thought of reward or repayment. It means deciding for yourself that you'll make a selfless gesture in order to help other people, animals or objects. However, this is far from what most people are now doing.

Every time an advert for a charity or good cause appears in front of us, we are basically being told that it's up to us to put an end to whatever terrible situation is being highlighted. The message is presented to us in such a way that we're made to feel that our inaction is going to increase the suffering. We didn't cause the problem yet we're made to feel guilty about it.

The worse case of this is the charity collectors who corner you when you've gone out for a drink with your friends. You're made to feel guilty that you're out enjoying yourself while people in the World are suffering so you throw your loose coins in the bucket. But, why should you have to feel guilty because you've worked hard to earn enough for a night out?

You're not giving your money out of generosity. You don't feel any sense of pride or satisf

lled with pictures of death and suffering that "only you" can stop. Here in the UK, you can't even go for a quiet drink in a pub or a bar without being approached by somebody shaking a charity bucket emblazoned with the phrase "Give Generously".

There lies the problem. How many people are actually "giving generously"? In my book, generosity means the desire to give to others by your own freewill without thought of reward or repayment. It means deciding for yourself that you'll make a selfless gesture in order to help other people, animals or objects. However, this is far from what most people are now doing.

Every time an advert for a charity or good cause appears in front of us, we are basically being told that it's up to us to put an end to whatever terrible situation is being highlighted. The message is presented to us in such a way that we're made to feel that our inaction is going to increase the suffering. We didn't cause the problem yet we're made to feel guilty about it.

The worse case of this is the charity collectors who corner you when you've gone out for a drink with your friends. You're made to feel guilty that you're out enjoying yourself while people in the World are suffering so you throw your loose coins in the bucket. But, why should you have to feel guilty because you've worked hard to earn enough for a night out?

You're not giving your money out of generosity. You don't feel any sense of pride or satis

o give to others by your own freewill without thought of reward or repayment. It means deciding for yourself that you'll make a selfless gesture in order to help other people, animals or objects. However, this is far from what most people are now doing.

Every time an advert for a charity or good cause appears in front of us, we are basically being told that it's up to us to put an end to whatever terrible situation is being highlighted. The message is presented to us in such a way that we're made to feel that our inaction is going to increase the suffering. We didn't cause the problem yet we're made to feel guilty about it.

The worse case of this is the charity collectors who corner you when you've gone out for a drink with your friends. You're made to feel guilty that you're out enjoying yourself while people in the World are suffering so you throw your loose coins in the bucket. But, why should you have to feel guilty because you've worked hard to earn enough for a night out?

You're not giving your money out of generosity. You don't feel any sense of pride or satis

t's up to us to put an end to whatever terrible situation is being highlighted. The message is presented to us in such a way that we're made to feel that our inaction is going to increase the suffering. We didn't cause the problem yet we're made to feel guilty about it.

The worse case of this is the charity collectors who corner you when you've gone out for a drink with your friends. You're made to feel guilty that you're out enjoying yourself while people in the World are suffering so you throw your loose coins in the bucket. But, why should you have to feel guilty because you've worked hard to earn enough for a night out?

You're not giving your money out of generosity. You don't feel any sense of pride or satis

drink with your friends. You're made to feel guilty that you're out enjoying yourself while people in the World are suffering so you throw your loose coins in the bucket. But, why should you have to feel guilty because you've worked hard to earn enough for a night out?

You're not giving your money out of generosity. You don't feel any sense of pride or satisfaction after doing it. All you're doing is trying to avoid the guilt and embarrassment you'd feel to be stood with your friends and not be seen to be acting "generously". Most of the time you just throw your money in the bucket without even knowing who or what it is that you're supposed to be helping. The truth is, you don't actually care just as long as you avoid the guilt. The salesmen have got hold of the charities and now they're selling us misery and guilt.

The downside to this new era of "guilt avoidance" is that genuine generosity is being killed off. The thought of doing something just to put a smile on someone else's face doesn't seem to crop up as often as it used to. You're bombarded with so many cries for help that you end up drained of generosity. You simply select the cause that you think needs your money the most then just send your regular donation. "That's the guilt tax paid for another month!"

Generosity should put as big a smile on your face as it does on the face of the person you're being generous towards. When you give a gift to someone at Christmas, seeing their face light up is one of the most satisfying experiences you can have. That's the feeling that generosity should give you. Giving is one thing, but being generous is quite another. When you pay your taxes, you're giving some of your money away but it leaves you feeling far from happy. So, let's just hope that the people really do learn to be generous ag