“Giving liberates the Soul of the Giver…” what a lovely way to put it. Maya Angelou reminds us that giving has many benefits, one of which is for the Giver. Not in a greedy way, more of a side effect. When we give our own soul is liberated beyond our imagination. We grow when we give.
Giving doesn’t have to be about money. It can be about time, energy, ideas, our resources, or even our abilities. One of my best giving experiences was helping out a friend’s neighbor who was eighty-five. We cleaned out her gutters…nothing else. Then wished her a Happy Thanksgiving. She cried when we knocked on her door…her family lived far away and she couldn’t afford to get them cleaned. We didn’t know that, we just knew her gutters needed cleaning. Filling a practical need for someone in need. Side effect for me, I learned how to clean gutters. From that point on I understood the gift of giving from both sides.
When was the last time you gave without the expectation of receiving OR recognition? If it was not in the last six months, then you need to get out and get giving. Stuck in a rut, go give your time away. Feeling depressed, go give to someone in need with your own skills, energy, or abundance. Need to better understand people, give time to a neighbor…go clean a few gutters.
You will be changed when you give for no other reason that to give. Not sure about that, do it in stealth mode. My same group of friends once raked a man’s yard while we has out…we did it at night so no one saw us. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He stood in his driveway in awe (while we watched from the bushes across the street!) It was amazing!
Get out there and give…it truly will liberate your soul!
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