Quotes and Wisdom
from the Top of the Mind™
from the Top of the Mind™
Generosity
"True generosity is when you give your all and yet feel as if it cost you nothing."
As we enter the season of "giving" where so much of our time and attention is focused on what we are going to give this person or that, I thought it might be nice to take a moment and reflect on the process itself. This is just one of several quotes on "giving" that I ran across in a magazine recently and have chosen it as this week's "favorite" for several reasons. The main reason is how nicely the quote speaks to the act of giving in its purest form...To "give your all and yet feel as if it cost you nothing" is indeed a beautiful way to describe the experience, and yet, my guess is that this will not be the experience for many people this holiday season.
How often have we heard others complain about the problems of getting gifts for others? People speak of the crowds, the traffic, the obligations, the money, the need to find the perfect gift, etc., and the result for many seems to be mostly relief when it's over. I wonder how our experience of giving would be different if we were willing to use this week's quote as a guide? In other words, if we would only give when it was out of true generosity or when our giving truly felt as if it cost us nothing? Would we give as much to as many, or more to more? Would we "fight" the crowds and traffic out of a need to prove our love through our gifts? Would we worry that the amount we are spending on others is about the same as what they are spending on us? Somehow, I think not.
Of course this is not to say that one "shouldn't" give to others in whatever way brings them joy. As a matter of fact, this "joy of giving" is exactly the premise behind this week's quote, meaning that if we choose, we can not only give through true generosity (where we give our all and yet feel as if it costs us nothing), we can use "joy" as a criteria for what we give, and to whom.
We will only give when we can do so in joy. This will assure that we will then enjoy the process. Who knows, we may still find ourselves in the holiday hustle and bustle, but rather than resenting having to fulfill some sort of obligation, we can instead focus on enjoying the process. Rather than fearing our gifts might be "wrong" or somehow "not enough," we can immerse ourselves in the joy of giving out of love, versus fear and worry. While this is easier said than done, my guess is that as we are able to become practiced at this new way of giving, the result will not only "feel as if it costs us nothing," but actually become a gift to ourselves, and give the receiver the opportunity to receive a true gift of love.
How often have we heard others complain about the problems of getting gifts for others? People speak of the crowds, the traffic, the obligations, the money, the need to find the perfect gift, etc., and the result for many seems to be mostly relief when it's over. I wonder how our experience of giving would be different if we were willing to use this week's quote as a guide? In other words, if we would only give when it was out of true generosity or when our giving truly felt as if it cost us nothing? Would we give as much to as many, or more to more? Would we "fight" the crowds and traffic out of a need to prove our love through our gifts? Would we worry that the amount we are spending on others is about the same as what they are spending on us? Somehow, I think not.
Of course this is not to say that one "shouldn't" give to others in whatever way brings them joy. As a matter of fact, this "joy of giving" is exactly the premise behind this week's quote, meaning that if we choose, we can not only give through true generosity (where we give our all and yet feel as if it costs us nothing), we can use "joy" as a criteria for what we give, and to whom.
We will only give when we can do so in joy. This will assure that we will then enjoy the process. Who knows, we may still find ourselves in the holiday hustle and bustle, but rather than resenting having to fulfill some sort of obligation, we can instead focus on enjoying the process. Rather than fearing our gifts might be "wrong" or somehow "not enough," we can immerse ourselves in the joy of giving out of love, versus fear and worry. While this is easier said than done, my guess is that as we are able to become practiced at this new way of giving, the result will not only "feel as if it costs us nothing," but actually become a gift to ourselves, and give the receiver the opportunity to receive a true gift of love.
Take care and God bless, Dr. Bill