Thinking too deeply at 2 in the morning

So I lost $540 tonight at the casino playing blackjack.  The cards just didn't come.  After I lost my first $300, I took out $200 more and lost that as well.  Even though that's a lot of money (a good fraction of a paycheck for me, though I'm not willing to share my exact earnings), it didn't affect me at all, and I really could care less.

Now some people might think of what else I could have done with that money instead.  I mean, there are definitely things I want in this world that money can buy, but none of them are important enough to me that $540 will make any kind of difference.  After all, I have much more than that left in reserve.  I could have also donated the money, as some of you know I am a frequent donor to charity, as well as to people I like.  But instead I just wasted the money by giving it to the casino.  But wait...

In the grand scheme of things, money is just something that floats around from person to person.  When I spend any kind of money, like on today's lunch for example, that money doesn't just disappear.  Instead it goes to the restaurant, who then uses it to pay employee salaries, get better equipment, and ultimately perform better.  The percentage that goes out as taxes is used by the government to ideally do things that benefit people.  The money I lost at the casino goes to pay workers and improve the casino facilities so that people can have better experiences there in the future.  And the tax money collected on that once again goes back to the community, the state, or the country.

So whenever you spend money, even if you don't think about it, you're giving it to someone who needs it, or someone who will use that money to benefit others.  It may not happen immediately but it definitely happens.  As someone who doesn't have much that I want personally, and someone who values the happiness of other people around me, I am always willing to donate to people and give my money back to people who need it.  And in a way, even my seemingly frivolous purchases result in the same thing for somebody out there in the world.

You're always helping people with everything you buy, even if you don't realize it.