Giving is more than an activity. It is a way of life and a beacon in the search for hope in troubled times. There is great turmoil today, but these are not unusual times, not in the span of human history. The wisdom of the ages is especially important to help us set our path and purpose.

Such wisdom comes from the 12th-century philosopher known as Maimonides. Born in Córdoba, Spain, he and his family went into exile in Morocco to escape religious persecution. As a young man, he mastered Aristotle, astronomy, and later medicine. After moving to Cairo, Maimonides became known as the city’s greatest rabbi, producing tomes of commentary on the Torah, and he lived out his final days as a renowned doctor.

But his greatest gift to humanity captured his thoughts about giving itself. His Eight Levels of Charity is a masterpiece that teaches us about what giving means and what motivates us to do it.

The bottom rung of Maimonides’ ladder is giving out of pity or grudgingly. The next step up is giving less than one should, but doing so cheerfully. Climb up to the fifth rung and you are giving before being asked. Further up the ladder is giving in a way that the receiver does not know who the giver is. The eighth and highest level of charity is to anticipate distress and giving to avoid or prevent it.

When we immunise children against polio, we are anticipating potential illness. We do so with other efforts, such as Rotary projects that reduce the incidence of malaria or cervical cancer.

Rotary Rotary Opens Opportunities

Please join us for 2021 Virtual Convention: Rotary Opens Opportunities, 12-16 June. Registration opens in mid-April.

This year’s event will connect you, virtually, with members around the world. It will open new opportunities to learn and to engage with the family of Rotary, near and far. Together, we’ll inspire action, strengthen our commitments, work on our challenges, and celebrate our successes.

Visit the convention event page on Facebook to connect with other participants and share what you’re looking forward to experiencing with #Rotary21. The Virtual Convention is open to all Rotary members and participants, so invite a friend to join you or share the event with your community.

Soon to be Hollywood star, John Angelo, who is shooting a commercial on Saturday, introduced our speaker of the day, Matthew P. Mayo an award-winning author (Two-time winner of the Spur Award and Western Heritage Wrangler Award).

He writes n o v e l s , n o n - f i c t i o n b o o k s , p o e t r y , and short s t o r i e s . John raved a b o u t some of M a y o ’ s books he has read, i n c l u d i n g C o w b o y s , Mount a i n Men and Grizzly Bears, calling him a fantastic western writer, with great knowledge of the Southwest and Arizona history. Rather than a typical “talk”, this turned into an interesting question and answer session which was a good way to learn more about this unique and talented man, how he got into writing and even the process he uses to write. We learned that he and his wife, photographer Jennifer Smith-Mayo, along with their trusty Golden/Australian Shepherd mix pup, Miss Tess, live in the wilds of Maine. They doubled the size of their home a year-and-a-half ago and now consider 600 square feet palatial on 15 acres he calls a “wonderful place to be.” He indicated he writes books, essays, journalistic pieces and poetry but his bread and butter is novels. Matthew grew up with parents—his father a dairy farmer and his mother a teacher— who loved to read—books and reading was the common denominator. He was raised on TV westerns like Gunsmoke and Bonanza and grew up wanting to write stories like that. He was impressed with the Hollywood versions but “it is much more complicated and far more interesting than that,” he says. Traveling in various vehicles including a 28 foot Airstream and teardrop camper, he has traveled to 46 states. He particularly loves the west because it is so beautiful and also because he needs to do research.