Mums the Word

I was reading through my favorite quote book, which I have had since 2001, and these words jumped off the page. They made me think about the last time I did a generous thing. Not a good thing for people to recognize and congratulate me for being generous. Not a cunning thing that made me feel good because other people knew I did it. A generous thing, something I did for no other reason than to help another member of the human race. Something people may not even know about. Something that was a simple act of kindness to make another person’s life better.

It is wonderful to be generous. It is amazing to do things with our gifts and talents that help change lives. And it is even most astounding to give, serve, and change lives when no one ever knows you were involved. THAT is generosity. If our motive is to be thanked, is that giving freely without strings? If our goal is to get our name on a list, is that why we are giving? And if we give to do the right thing, the best thing for someone else, isn’t that what true generosity is all about?

We have time, money, talents, resources from which we can give with abundance. All of us have something we can give away, give generously, give to help someone else. It doesn’t matter what it is, the important thing is the reason why we are giving. If our motives are self focused then we had better check again. When we give without thinking about the results for ourselves THAT is when our generosity is a true gift.

When was the last time you gave and did it to simply be generous and not be recognized for your gift? Find a chance this week to be truly generous, and then don’t tell anyone…mums the word!