In America, there is always more, bigger, richer. Every good thing opens the door to another good thing, a bigger and more expensive thing, leaving the question begging: when is enough enough? When is less more?

I am on a different patch. I am learning that less, is in fact, more, that smaller is often bigger and more enduing, the giving without boundaries and reaching always for the sky is just another kind of slavery.

This week, I put another of Bishop Maginn  High School Art Student Blue up for sale for $30, this is her second sketch up for sale, and it was sold quickly.

Blue is very gifted and next week Maria and I are bringing her watercolor supplies and acrylic paint so she can work over the summer. Look for more very good paintings to buy, she paints from the heart.

A Facebook reader  asked me a perfectly good and fair question online, it is the kind of question I am often asked, and it includes a suggestion to do more, to be bigger, to make more money for these children.

He wrote:

“Have you considered putting the paintings on ebay for a 3 (or some) day auction?
I think it will raise much more this way. and you can put a minimum amount.”

I do feel I should answer it, and I appreciate that he asked it of me.

He was not alone, people have suggested crowdsourcing, seeking corporate support, holding online auctions, setting up a non-profit corporation, contacting art schools and museums.

I don’t plan to do any of those things, and people deserve to know why.

I wrote back to this man that I didn’t want to consider opening up an account on ebay and running an online auction for several days.

“We are asking a fair price,” I wrote, and we are selling every thing we offer,  we we don’t need to pressure people for more, the artists are very happy, I said.

“They don’t think their paintings are worth more than that right out of the gate, and I agree, I admire them for their honesty and humility.” I have no wish to distort reality for them, or to make them a ton of money. That is for them to do.

I wrote that “I don’t need a minimum amount, people are paying the asking price, which is non-negotiable. The young artists are thrilled.

More is not always better. It seems whenever we do something that really works, people say let’s do more. I’m not of that school. I believe we need to stay small and practical. Small acts of great kindness, I do appreciate your thought.”

And I do appreciate it, the questions come from a place of love and empathy.

But I think that’s the wrong direction for me and the Army of Good. I am not here to rescue people, but to support them, and there is a world of difference. I am not here to give them great sums of money, but to help them get the small things they truly need, and to offer encouragement and support where possible.

I am happiest when people can write tax-deductible checks directly to places like Bishop Maginn or decide what to buy from Wish Lists like theirs or the Mansions.

This is not always possible.

I’ve been doing this work on behalf of the refugees and the Mansion residents for about three years now, and I have learned a lot about how to do it, how not to do it,  and to do it efficiently and well.

I’ve created a network of thrift shops, worked beautifully with the Army Of Good, and become a specialist at targeted online shopping. I don’t farm the work and research out, I do it myself, and I am very careful about buying too much used or second-hand clothing. I want them to have hardy and well made things, not just handoffs. although those can  sometimes be wonderful gifts.

I choose projects carefully, and whenever I can, show just where the money has gone.

I’ve learned that a lot of companies say they want to donate things to good causes, but dealing with them is like sticking your head into quicksand and trying to walk on your hands.

Generosity is anathema to the modern corporation, they are not built for it.  They only do what makes them look good. They love big projects that promote their products, they don’t care much for poor refugee kids or the elderly in small assisted care facilities.

If they did, these people would be a lot better off and be in much less need.

I told my letter writer that the most important thing I have learned in this work is to think small, and to resist the many calls for me to be bigger, do more, raise more money, go non-profit, hook up with other organizations and people,  hold auctions, reach out to billionaires.

Part of this approach is for me.

This work is hard and demanding, raising money is always hard, keeping track of it is important, spending it wisely and well is essential. I will not put myself in a position to burn out and abandon this work – this has happened to me before – that is perhaps the greatest danger that I face.

If I were to undertake even a fraction of these very American ideas for success, I would disintegrate.

And I do have to protect me. It is easy to make suggestions, hard to carry them out.

It is very American to get bigger. That is not what these children and their parents are about, they want to do well, be safe and comfortable. They don’t wish to live off of other people’s money for one day longer than necessary.

The American idea is to always go up. If something works in one way, make it bigger. Do more paperwork. Reach more people, make more money. Negotiate harder.

It’s ironic, but my philosophy – it has worked well so far – is just the opposite.

I think the Army Of Good is successful because we think small and stay small. I would not survive the bureaucratic smothering  and paperwork of a non-profit 5 C with their notorious and intrusive  boards of directors. I deal with them all the time, I don’t ever want to be them.

And I would lose my mind sitting on an eBay auction for days trying to drive up the price of the paintings of  these humble and shy refugee children. That is not what they want or need. Their needs are great, and the task is to help without overwhelming them.

If I’ve learned anything about myself, it’s that I work best outside of organizations, they don’t tend to like me, and I don’t tend to like them. I like to move quickly, and work in small but significant ways. I don’t need a ton of money, I don’t ask for a ton of money, and I don’t get a ton of money. That feels right.

I thought I needed to explain that a bit. Thanks for your ideas, your support and your understanding. Without  you, I am just another voice in the din.

For me, less is more, less is the idea.