During a lunch time, I enjoyed eating pancakes and reading a magazine of the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF). I surprised reading the statement of someone called Bill Paine when he received an award as a Philanthropist of the year by the Fundraising Institute Australia. He said "I realized I was already more than halfway through my life and that got me thinking about important issues and deeper values. I decided that it was time to do something that will live on after me." He donated many things and many times to the ACF. But what became an issue and made him way to get the award was that he donated his mainly and only house.
His act and thought of generosity are of similar from what I found among Indonesian Muslims. When someone is more than a half way on his or her way through the life, there are two things will be done: doing pilgrimage (hajj) and giving religious endowments (waqf). By these generous giving, Muslim communities have been supported through centuries.
Giving endowments in a western country is popular too. The name of donors will attached to the endowment they give forever. This is a similar tradition that is found in the middle east and in the majority Muslim communities.
No matter west or east, atheist or religious, deeper values about life lead to the same end: generosity.
