I have been thinking a lot lately about the whole idea of giving. I have found that when I am giving away what I have to give, weather it be financially, material goods, my time or any other ways that I can give, it not only makes me feel better, it also takes the focus off of myself. I have attempted to make giving a part of my life...to live a life of giving because of the gratitude I feel in my heart for all I have been given. And even though I have been told that I am a giving person, I know in my heart that I fall short in the art of giving.
While I can say that there have been times in my life that I have given as much as I can give, I have to be honest and say that I haven't always given as much as I could. There have been times when I thought that I wasn't in the position to give or that I didn't have anything to give. There are times when I have felt too empty to give anything of myself. There are moments when the opportunity presented itself and I chose not to give, out of pure selfishness. There have also been many opportunities to give that have passed me by because I was too self absorb to see the need around me.
I believe that when a person gives, nothing should be expected back in return. I also believe that the giver can feel just as blessed in giving as the person receiving the giving. I believe that a true act of giving comes with no strings attached to what is being given, which makes this act of giving a true gift of oneself, whatever it may be.
I believe that what goes around, comes around. I believe that what you put out there to the universe comes back to you...not always like you expect it to and you may not always recognize it until many years later.
For me, my greatest example of giving, is Jesus. Now I know that some of you may not believe in him or the bible. I am not a religious person and I don't go to church, although I did at one time. Regardless, I am a believer and for me personally, he has been my biggest inspiration for many things, but giving is one of them...it has given me the desire to live a life of giving. After I finished drug treatment, I started reading the bible and for the most part, studied the life of Jesus by reading the gospels. The way he lived his life fascinates me. He gave to those around him that were undeserving and those that could not give anything back to him. He gave to the walking wounded...people like you and me...people like those that are walking all around us right now...and sometimes...a lot of the time, we don't always see them or we chose not to see when they are right there in front of us.
It's funny because I have been thinking about this for some time now and had already planned on writing this post, and then I came across a couple of blogs recently, that are doing some really awesome things in giving to others. They are raising awareness through their blogs to the needs that are around us.
One of them is Crystal at Boobs, Injuries & Dr. Pepper. Crystal and her daughter Virginia have started a project to give DS players to children that may otherwise never have one. Crystal has an amazing life story that has made her the beautiful wonderful person she is. I would recommend checking out her blog to see what it's all about.
Carrien at She laughs at the Days along with her husband, are trying to raise money for orphan children in Burma. Her brother-in-law met a man named Chala, who has rescued 40 children in the jungle of Burma. This project has it's own web site called The Charis Project and since there is so much more to this project, I would recommend going to this web site to learn more. Carrien and her husband and children will be moving to Thailand in the near future to do even more work to give to others. They are amazing people.
These are the kinds of people that make our world a better place. Their acts of giving have challenged me to stop and think about my life and how I can give more. I am challenging myself to really take a look around...to open my eyes to those around me...to look at these opportunities to give of myself, in my daily life. It is something I taught my five children and it is something I want to teach my little people that I have now.
Where do you stand? How do you feel about giving? Do you want to take this challenge with me? Share with me your thoughts on giving...share with me any ideas you have about ways to give.
2 comments:
I love to give. And for selfish reasons I guess, cause it just makes me feel good. I don't have a lot to give, and there are many times I have given my "time" more than anything monetary. I wish I could do more. I wish I had more time and money to do more. Maybe one day.
I always thought when I retire, I would love to be a "granny" in the new born ward of a hospital and rock the babies. I mean, I think it would benefit me more than anyone, but still, it would help, right?
I think that your desire to give is admirable and awesome. Don't be too hard on yourself for not giving when you thought you should have. There are times in our lives when we need to be fed so that we can be strong enough to do the feeding later. I believe that it's important to give back but also that charity begins at home and what you are doing right there with your grandchildren is giving a great gift and more than most could handle.
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