Tygarjas Twyrls Blog

I mentioned the other day that I was going to donate platelets, to which the initial response to one of the people I was speaking to was, “Why?” And the answer was, “Because someone needs them.”

Then, the other person to whom I was speaking said, “Well, have you gotten checked out to be put on the bone-marrow donors list?” To which my answer was, “Well, if I were picked for that, that sounds mighty painful.”

And I am reminded of the story of a person who had a sort of neurosis in which their desire to give was so great, they decided to donate all of their vital organs while still alive, or in other words, donate their self to death.

So, what I believe is, whatever pain a person can tolerate undergoing to help another in a real way, it is a true blessing not only to one who gives, but to the one who receives.

The truth is, there are rewards for donating blood; physical rewards a person can take home with them. “Goodies” if you will . . . But, the most ego-centric “goody” is the immediate gratification of knowing that someone else’s life was maintained by the giving of the substance that keeps me alive.

And quite frankly, that is how the world works, and not only that, the means by which it works best and most pleasantly: The quality of what one gives of their life is of direct benefit and raises the quality of life for everyone else. As a result of everyone else’s quality of life improving, so to does the quality of life improve for whomever has put forth their best efforts and the work of their hands, or whatever contribution they are able to give from the fullness of their being.

This is the governance of the divine. It is why every human being ought to strive to create even a smile upon their face through their own individual suffering. It is what the governance of man should strive to attain in their land with their leadership.

The flow of blood in our veins, ultimately, is not there for the sake of the person in whom it flows. It is there for the opportunity it gives the person in whom it flows to share the worth of that blood with all others.

A Christian would say that the blood of Christ was spilled for our sake. I say the blood of anyone is meaningless if it does not flow in any direction for the well-being and happiness of all others in existence. It is the measure of its worth for if other’s quality of life is not raised as the result of the flow of blood in us, so others are deprived the opportunity for serving us in kind and thus raising the quality of our life. Which reminds me of a lyric by Mr. Robert Hunter, “What good is spilling blood? It will not grow a thing.”

So, I give blood because I can, because someone needs it, because I can tolerate the pain of doing it, and because it may give someone else the opportunity to save my life in a way I cannot conceive. It may be that a time comes when I need someone else’s blood, in which case, I ought be willing to give to a stranger what I would ask from a stranger. I give because I know the action is helpful to someone, and I thank God that there is something I am capable of doing that will cause joy rather than pain to another absolutely. I give because I rejoice in the ritual of gratitude; the joy of being grateful to give what in all likelihood is grateful to be received.

Mahalo.