Generosity - 7 Short Musings
ONE
My daughter walked into my office with these flowers today. She cut them from the blooming bush in our yard and put them in a cup from the cupboard. This small act from her big heart now takes its place alongside the 1000s of pictures she’s drawn with my name and hers in hearts, the snacks she has made and offered over the years which have evolved from ‘everything-that-is-in-the kitchen’ soup (which I could only pretend to ingest) to fruit plates and chopped veggies with homemade dips. These little generosities have added up to help build a relationship of abundance between us.
TWO
I am always inspired by the way hard times can call upon our better nature, and humbled by those who answer that call. So much suffering in the world right now and so many rising up to support. It’s truly a beautiful life-giving cycle. When we fall, we ask for a hand and allow someone to help us to our feet. When we rise, we reach back to help those who are still on the ground. It’s a humble process of connection and belonging.
THREE
When we shift our focus from what we can get to how we can give the whole world opens, and we receive in magnitudes unimaginable to a mind consumed by lack. It has been proven time and again how generosity can lower blood pressure, reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and the experience of chronic pain. On the other hand, it can improve our relationships and overall outlook on life; and increase our life expectancy, resilience, and happiness.
FOUR
Generosity is not something we need to attain; it is an innate quality of our true nature. One we often suppress with the excuse of not enough. Not enough time, not enough money, not strong enough, not healthy enough, not knowledgeable enough, not good enough. Enough with not enough! We all have the capacity to give and can be generous in so many ways: generous with our assumptions, our time, our attention and presence, our resources, our listening, etc. – all of which don’t require us to be anything other than we are. It’s just a simple slip of the mind from the river of lack to the river of abundance; from the stress of feeling partial to this moment where we are whole.
FIVE
The way that generosity works is really interesting, perhaps counterintuitive. You see, it works like a flame. When you light a candle from the flame of another, the latter is not diminished, and the light in the world is increased. When we really understand this truth, generosity becomes a regenerative act of graciousness, rather than a draining act of martyrdom.
SIX
To pull our awareness out of ourselves and our insulated perspectives, that tend to revolve around I, me, my, mine; and take in a bigger view, is one audaciously challenging, powerful act. To give in the face of scarcity, to love in the midst of fear, to trust in the field of doubt, to be present in times of distraction, is to fully live amongst the slowly dying.
SEVEN
Our lives depend on each other and the small acts of generosity that continually affirm our connection. Can we simply take one extra moment to look someone in the eye and smile? Can we step outside of ourselves and really listen? Can we cut a few flowers from a blooming bush and offer them up to someone we love or who looks lonely? It wouldn’t cost much, but it would help us all to live.