The Forgotten Art of Giving
Canadians are feeling less charitable as time goes on. How do we revive our sense of generosity?
It’s time to remember what it feels like to give again.
Over the years, Canadians have been feeling less generous and have seemingly lost the incentive to give. The amount Canadians donate to charity has recently dropped to a 20-year low, finds a study by the Fraser Institute. This research finds that less than one-in-five Canadians claimed charitable donations on their tax return in 2017, the most recent year of available data.
To make matters worse, according to a more recent study in 2019, Generosity in Canada and the United States: The 2019 Generosity Index, this trend is bound to be continued for the foreseeable future. The total amount donated by Canadians is the lowest it’s been since at least 2000.
So how do we go about combatting these dire statistics? Maybe, just maybe, going back to the core of what we value about the act of giving would be a good way to start. It’s about time we bring back the art of generosity. What makes giving so great? Here are some arguments to get behind!
- We really, really, start to feel more happiness as we become more generous.
A study published in Nature Communications came across a revelation that should’ve been established as common sense a long time ago: Making generosity a regular habit could influence our long-term wellbeing and overall happiness. Researchers have discovered that merely thinking about doing something generous has substantial mood-boosting benefits in our brains.
Even more promising — this study has found that it doesn’t even seem to matter how generous we are. Making a small donation is said to have the same effects on happiness as giving away a lot.
According to this scientific study, it’s also becoming more and more apparent that the primary road to increasing our happiness lies in the simple act of just committing to helping others.
2. Being more generous could mean better health.
Not only can giving back improve our mental state of being, but it can also have prominently positive effects on our physical health. A study published in The Journal of Gerontology series b has showcased that older individuals who practice generosity on the regular can be expected to have better health. Other research shows that being charitable can surprisingly be as effective at lowering blood pressure as various forms of medication and exercise. Believe it or not, there’s also a positive association between helping others and life expectancy! It seems as if you could say because helping others reduces stress, at the very least.
3. When we give, we inspire others to give.
All the amazing outcomes of charitable giving aside, to positively influence another human being is something of a magical sensation to experience. Not only do we reap the effects of doing a good deed in being generous, but we also get to revel in the positive behavioral change we’ve caused in others. Even if it is just one person, doing only one generous act, the mere fact that it was us who inspired someone to embrace the practice of generosity makes us feel the joy of giving tenfold.
These are some reminders of just what it is that makes giving so great. It’s not the time — sooner or later — or the amount — big or small — that matters in giving. What matters is just starting to give.
Winston Churchill said it best:
“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”
