The Art of Giving
We look around us today and we only see people raving about what they don’t have in their lives. The depravities of mankind where they have totally forgotten about the foundations on which our society was built. It was all about correlation, coalition, and coexistence, yet today we stand alone in whatever endeavour we undertake. We have totally forgotten to think about those who’re around us while we rave about the things we do not have. While we do succeed in attaining our selfish desires, the mental health of those around us gets shattered to bits.
The Art of Giving is all about creating an unconditional and sustainable abundance of love, peace and happiness, and contentment for others through gestures of kindness and generosity. True giving and happiness are deeply connected and they both come from a place deep within our souls. A gift, no matter how small or large, is something that is enjoyed twice. First by the giver and then by the person who receives the gift.
“There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life — happiness, freedom, and peace of mind — are always attained by giving them to someone else. “ — Peyton Conway March
We live in a society where the scales are very unfairly balanced, there are those who enjoy an abundance of peace, happiness, and worldly pleasures whereas there are those who are critically deprived of it. It’s like looking at the two sides of a coin, one that is really favourable whereas the other that is deprived of everything yet both the sides hold equal value, similarly, every human holds equal value even if they turn out to be on the wrong side of the coin.
We are all one and the same, droplets in the same ocean of life. Each person is really a part of you. We are not separate beings. This is just an illusion that all of us have been living with for many thousands of years. When you give love to another, you are in essence giving love to yourself and this self just happens to have an apparent “separate” physical form than yours. So, when you are hesitant to give to another, remember that you are in essence giving to a part of yourself, and benefiting all of humanity including yourself.
The act of giving doesn’t have to be limited to holidays or special occasions. You can treat every person you meet as someone to who you can give something special to. Let’s not think also that a gift is always something we purchase with our money. A very special form of giving can be personal acts of kindness. More so than we think, it’s not money or material things that people need, it’s the things that can’t be seen, like a piece of good advice, a kind word, an appreciation, the sharing of some special knowledge, a compliment, a helping hand, some support during a difficult time or even a smile.
We all have something to give. We all have something of value for another person. With most things in this world, there is only a limited amount of what you can give away. Thankfully, generosity and kindness are not associated with these same material limitations and this makes the art of giving something wonderful.
One of life’s most basic laws is “every single act of love, kindness and generosity will multiply and return to you many times over “. The more you give the happier you will feel.
How often does one expect back from the person they gave something to of a similar or greater value? Is this true giving or merely an unvoiced expectation of an exchange of similar goods?
Have you ever heard anyone saying “ I just give and give and give until I have nothing left “?
This behaviour has many other names. Self-denial, self-pity, martyrdom, self-righteousness to name just a few. This is an ego-based form of giving. It is giving with an expectation of something in return. In reality, this is not giving at all but an unvocalized form of barter. If, through the act of giving, you feel that you have “lost something or are somehow lessened” then the gift was not truly given from your heart.
Truly giving something from the heart is an action which will fill your life with joy. This is where the expression to “give wholeheartedly” comes from.
The intention behind your giving is the most essential thing. The intention should always be to create happiness for both the giver and the receiver and when the intentions are the right ones it creates a pattern of happiness, joy, trust, and love in your life beyond what you could ever expect. When you give without any desire of getting something back, your returns will be limitless. To give something from the heart is an action which will fill your life with joy.
You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
The person that practices the art of giving knows that it is not about just giving money away. It is about looking inside and asking yourself, “How can I share my energy with the world in a way which helps all beings prosper and grow?”
The truth is that you have many gifts to offer your fellow beings on this planet that would enrich their lives. It’s very simple. If you want to experience more joy, give joy to others, if you want more love, learn to give love, if you want attention and appreciation, learn to give appreciation to others. These are some of life’s most precious gifts and they don’t cost you anything.
