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Today's
quotation:
Generosity does not apply only to money and material things;
it is more about your spirit. You do not have to be financially
wealthy to be generous. You can give love, kindness, time,
listening, patience, caring, appreciation, compliments,
and service. When in doubt, give.
Alan Cohen
The Tao Made
Easy
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Today's
Meditation:
Most of us wish to be considered as generous people,
but what does generosity truly entail? Is it putting
stuff we never use any more into a box and taking it to a
thrift store? Is it giving our last dollar so that
someone else can have a meal today? We very often
equate generosity with monetary and material giving, yet
the concept can mean so much more than that. My
giving can be in many different areas and still be
extremely generous, even though not a single cent changes
hands.
Do I want to make today a day when I'm generous to
others? Then I have to commit myself to being so,
whether I have extensive financial resources or not.
I can commit myself to giving sincere compliments and
encouragement, to taking the time to listen to someone
else tell me what they want to tell me, to share my food
if possible (perhaps I can bring some extra chocolate to
work to give away!). I work a lot with little kids,
and I try to be very generous with sincere praise of the
kids to their parents, and it's a very positive thing to
give to parents.
Generosity really is a spiritual matter. Sincere
generosity, with no expectations of reciprocation, really
is something that comes from our spirits. When
we are generous, our spirits are that part of us that
benefits from our giving. And our giving can be in
the form of anything we have or anything we can do that
will be of benefit to someone else.
Do you want to be generous, or do you want to be thought
of as a generous person? These can be two different
things, of course, and I hope that someday I'm actually
the former. I have a ways to go, as most of us do,
but I'm trying every day to give more and more of what I
have that will help another.
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