It's ok, slip! I think it feels wonderful to help people. I also recognize that I gotta back off from doing so sometimes. It's a case-by-case scenario. Remember that you help most people the most by being strong yourself.

When I was young, I was really upset one day over some bit of news, I can't remember what it was. Probably something about homelessness, as that always affected me quite a lot (and still does, to some degree). I mentioned this to my step-mother, who told me that if you want to help, that's noble, but you have to be in a position to help first. (I wasn't quite old enough to be giving away anything useful, except maybe some of my crappier Transformers). Nowadays, I give when I can, and when I can't, remember to when I can again. =)

That being said, feeling fake is certainly a valid feeling. I once gave my other poptart to a homeless guy in north Seattle once on my way to a job interview. I had butterflies in my stomach, so I KNEW the only reason I was giving it to him was because I wasn't going to eat it. But that didn't make him appreciate it any less. He turned out to be a pretty cool guy, and my day was significantly better for it.

Why do all my stories have homeless people in them? Anyway, I feel like fake, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, and sometimes being true to yourself means feeling fake for a little bit, you know?

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i never accept an upgrade that ends in .0 ...that's old school!

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Kindness 1.3 was a mess. It kept serving itself. I'm grateful for the upgrade.