learningtogive.org
What do we value most in another person? I'd say generosity of spirit. When I read a story about a mother sacrificing herself to save her child in a flood, or rescuers placing themselves in danger to save people trapped under collapsed rubble, it brings a lump to my throat.
Today was my Mother's birthday. Since her passing, my appreciation swells for her generous acts. Right throughout my life, she gave me thoughtful gifts and never stopped loving me, even when I didn't deserve her devotion. She died on the other side of the world to me, back in Australia. Yet, whatever the distance, love flows freely.
Today's news tells about residents of an East Sussex village, who have heard their church clock chime for the first time in nearly 50 years as they went about their daily lives. The chime was never fixed although they repaired clock in the late 1960's. To commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the sound has been restored, and an automated winding system has been installed so nobody needs to climb into the tower each day. This shows you should never give up on redeeming something that has lost value.
But rather than physical value, I want to concentrate on an attitude which I prize most highly in another human being.
Today was my Mother's birthday. Since her passing, my appreciation swells for her generous acts. Right throughout my life, she gave me thoughtful gifts and never stopped loving me, even when I didn't deserve her devotion. She died on the other side of the world to me, back in Australia. Yet, whatever the distance, love flows freely.
Today's news tells about residents of an East Sussex village, who have heard their church clock chime for the first time in nearly 50 years as they went about their daily lives. The chime was never fixed although they repaired clock in the late 1960's. To commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the sound has been restored, and an automated winding system has been installed so nobody needs to climb into the tower each day. This shows you should never give up on redeeming something that has lost value.
But rather than physical value, I want to concentrate on an attitude which I prize most highly in another human being.
humanityhealing.org
'Generosity begins at the level of the soul, which never runs out of the two things totally necessary to life: energy and awareness. When you feel secure that you as a person won’t run short of those two things, you can afford to be generous in spirit. That is a greater gift to the world than money. The two don’t preclude each other. Once you are generous of spirit, giving on any level becomes natural and easy.
In practical terms, generosity of spirit comes down to the following things:
Offering yourself first. Here yourself means the real you. Flow from the inside out is what generosity of spirit is all about. The real you is open and vulnerable. It feels sympathy with the human condition. It recognizes no divisions between one soul and another'. Read more here.
Yesterday, something wonderful happed. A parcel fell through my door. My husband brought the cardboard packet in to me with raised eyebrows. "I didn't order anything," I assured him. Deep inside, I knew what it I would find when I opened the seal—a copy of Golden Submarine, hot off the press. With no sender's name included, I knew who had made the gesture—my writing partner Edith Parzefall, who lives in Germany. Language and distance cause no barrier between us.
She didn't wait for the price to lower. She dived in and bought the novel, knowing I was struggling for money. Another token of her generous spirit. I'm still gazing at the cover of the paperback, which you can see at the right-hand side of the page. It's the third of our Higher Ground series about the future.
'After the great flood destroyed civilization, Cerridwen gains the unlikely support of a band of adventurers to her quest to lead Britland to a better future. As they row along the coast of Corn World to reach Long Doom and find a powerful ring, they face dangerous, mysterious, and bizarre adventures. Lured by the Gold Lord's treasure, Sasha endangers their lives and Britland's fate'.
There's nothing like the feel of a weighty paperback in your hands, or the knowledge of the generous spirit who gave the gift. It fills my heart with happiness.
In practical terms, generosity of spirit comes down to the following things:
Offering yourself first. Here yourself means the real you. Flow from the inside out is what generosity of spirit is all about. The real you is open and vulnerable. It feels sympathy with the human condition. It recognizes no divisions between one soul and another'. Read more here.
Yesterday, something wonderful happed. A parcel fell through my door. My husband brought the cardboard packet in to me with raised eyebrows. "I didn't order anything," I assured him. Deep inside, I knew what it I would find when I opened the seal—a copy of Golden Submarine, hot off the press. With no sender's name included, I knew who had made the gesture—my writing partner Edith Parzefall, who lives in Germany. Language and distance cause no barrier between us.
She didn't wait for the price to lower. She dived in and bought the novel, knowing I was struggling for money. Another token of her generous spirit. I'm still gazing at the cover of the paperback, which you can see at the right-hand side of the page. It's the third of our Higher Ground series about the future.
'After the great flood destroyed civilization, Cerridwen gains the unlikely support of a band of adventurers to her quest to lead Britland to a better future. As they row along the coast of Corn World to reach Long Doom and find a powerful ring, they face dangerous, mysterious, and bizarre adventures. Lured by the Gold Lord's treasure, Sasha endangers their lives and Britland's fate'.
There's nothing like the feel of a weighty paperback in your hands, or the knowledge of the generous spirit who gave the gift. It fills my heart with happiness.
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