A Time of Giving

What makes a person memorable, ever wondered about that? Is it their personality? Their status, perhaps? The way they engage conversations? Maybe so, but the truth is the people we remember the most are the ones who share a little of themselves, their time, their resources to those in dire need of a helping hand. Call it charity, if you will, but it simply is an act of love called kindness.

We go through life aiming for a gold standard. We want to belong and we want to feel that we are needed or we are someone important. Often times our only real competitor ( and conscience) is ourselves. And yet we hear about these individuals everyday, giving generously to the community, to charity, to a cause they believe in. "Giving back", is a loosely coined term which means sharing some of the blessings bestowed upon them. If you were, perhaps, a millionaire you would probably do the same.

My question to you is do you really need to be somebody famous, rich, or important to show a gesture of kindness and love to those in need? What about the millions of unsung heroes who unselfishly give whatever they can to those less fortunate than they? You certainly never hear about them. My point here is that we need to exercise humility and generosity in our lives. An old friend of mine who passed away a long time ago used to always tell me that a coffin has no pockets. He would rather die a poor man and be fondly remembered by those whose lives he touched than die a rich man nobody ever knew. That was the legacy he wanted to leave behind. He did.

We hoard materialistic possessions and we have become slaves of society and somewhere along the line it's becoming really difficult to be a good samaritan. The truth is we have become obsessed with beating deadlines, acquiring promotions, climbing that corporate ladder one rung at a time, or even just making ends meet with that nine-to-fiver minimum wage job, that our daily practices circumvent towards monotony. We have forgotten how to feel and be felt. That is why generosity sometimes reminds us that we have one other social obligation we have for so long neglected; to help a friend.

The time of giving is now. Don't always associate giving with money because a little of your time, a sound advice, a helping hand, even just a warm meal can mean the world to someone. If you were to leave a legacy behind leave one worth remembering over and over again. Practice kindness, be patient, be humble, be unselfish, be forgiving, be loving, and always believe in yourself. Until our next post,folks.