Yesterday I went to the May 20th, 2014 San Jose City Counsel meeting to listen to the outcome of the medicinal marijuana restrictions they are trying to change. Long story short, when I was paying the parking meter an African-American homeless man was dragging a cart with his supplies and beautiful pitbull in it. The man was not begging for money, just simply walking on the side walk. As he passed by, I pulled what I thought to be a one dollar bill from my pocket without looking to give to him. I said to him, "Hey brother, you need some money?" As I extended my arm towards him, I saw the bill in my hand was not a one, or a five, or a ten dollar bill but it was my buddy Andrew Jackson on the twenty. I thought about taking back the bill but the man had already seen it and before I could react, he said, "Aww for real man? You're a blessing, I need to by my dog some food. She hasn't eaten in a few days." The man was not fully clothed and clearly needed that twenty dollars more than his dog, but he said, thanks to me his dog can get some food and when she gives birth to her puppies he will give me one if he sees me again.
Personally I don't care about that puppy that he promised me, or the twenty dollars I technically "gave away." What I do care about is the feeling I was able to bring to that man when he got that twenty dollars.
Money can buy happiness if you spend it ways that you usually do not. I would have spent that twenty dollars on gas for my car or something that is not a necessity for my survival. This man that I gave it two is living a horrible life with nothing but his shopping cart filled with clothes and his dog; he immediately decided to spend the money not on himself but on his one true companion. Never judge people by the way they look because he did not look like the best individual but his heart is in the right place.
Giving the money to this man instead of spending it myself gave me a life long memory not a useless martial item like gas or anything else you could buy for $20.
From a chemical standpoint, money can buy happiness. Because you can buy MDMA, which will boost your serotonin levels, the chemical responsible for the feelings of happiness. In another story, it has been proven that spending money on others brings more of a joyful feeling than spending that money on oneself.
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