First off: a big, huge, GIANT “thank you” to every single one of you. I can’t tell you how wonderful it feels to have so many beautiful comments from so many amazing people!

You all have inspired me to make this a true collaborative effort. I was already so jazzed about this whole idea, and now it just sounds even MORE fun (if that’s possible!) to get to have all of you involved, too.  What I will do, at the very least, is tell you about the people I’m considering. I just LOVED Elisabeth’s comment about how, aside from any money they might receive, just having all the “vibes” sent their way will hopefully make a difference in their lives. And then, if you want, you guys can help me decide who goes first and what-not. I even figured out yesterday how to add polls to my posts. (How cool is that?  I just adore polls.)

I have three people in mind to choose from initially, and I can’t wait to tell you about them. But I’m going to be a tease and put it off until tomorrow or maybe even Tuesday. (I have a tendency to want to do everything all at once. So I’m chanting “marathon, not sprint, marathon, not sprint,” to keep myself reigned in a bit, lol.)

There is something else important, today, that I would love your opinions on: One of you beautiful, amazing readers actually offered to send ME money! Money for the pot! I still hardly know what to say. I was SO touched, SO amazed, and just utterly blown away.

But as honored, touched, and wowed as I was by that offer of money, I am torn about accepting it.  It has simply never occurred to me to make the site a two-way street.  I was purely aiming for a giving site.  Donations to the pool hadn’t occurred to me.

SO: I need your help thinking this through. Here are the pros and cons as I see them. Cons first:

Cons to accepting donations to the pool:

*I don’t want this site to feel in any remote way like a scam. I’m afraid that even accepting money, even passively, will taint the vibe of the site.

* I don’t want anyone at all, anywhere, EVER, for even the smallest reason, to feel even remotely, AT ALL, pressured into giving.  This is HUGELY important to me.  I have zero expectations to receive, and would never ever want it to seem otherwise.

* I love giving my own money away, but I’m daunted by the idea of giving someone else’s money away.  What if the donor disagrees with the people I’ve chosen? What if they don’t like the choices I make?  I don’t ever want to create any bad feelings, and don’t want to feel beholden to anyone, yk?

Pros to accepting donations:

* More money for the pot is more money for the pot. How can that be a bad thing?

* If I want other people to be able to receive with an open heart, shouldn’t I be able to do the same?

* I’m not the only person who likes to give.  LOTS of people have figured out that it feels better to give than to receive. In fact, the real gift is in the giving, and that’s not just a cliche, that’s the honest truth.  So would it be wrong and hypocritical for me to inadvertently cut off the flow of giving?  Isn’t it sort of arrogant to think that I only give, never receive?  Why shouldn’t I help others share in this magic of giving?

Bottom line: I want this to be a feel-good site. That is the top, number one most important thing.  So, what do you guys think makes the site more “feel good”?  Accepting donations, or kindly refusing them?

I’m now going to add my very first poll.  Wheeeeeeee!

EDITED TO ADD: I made my decision… for the moment, anyway. I hid a little button on the Contact page. It may come back down again — I’m still ambivalent about it, and may change at any point (thank you Elisabeth!). Thank you all for your help yesterday. You can still vote in the poll if you want — I always love collecting opinions, even if it’s a bit after the fact.