THE POWER OF “GIVING”

Giving is a power which stems from a very selfless act, that of simply giving from the heart. The act is not connected to any special occasion like Christmas or birthday, etc, rather, it is “anytime” -  primarily for one reason - that is,  wanting to share what it is that you have, showing your gratitude and showing how you actually care. There must be none other reason behind it.

Service is the very purpose of life. It’s the rent you pay for being on this planet. The secret of living is giving. Always give more than you expect.

Popular Quotes on Act of Giving
Barbara Bush

“Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our minds to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others”.

Winston Churchill

“We make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give”

Kehil Gilbran

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give’.

Albert Einstein

“It is everyman’s obligation to put back into the world at least equivalent of what he takes out of it”

Anne Frank

“No one has ever become poor by giving”

Why We Should Give

·         One, out of every four (4) people in the world is starving.

·         As many as 1.5b people in the world don’t have enough clean water.

·         At least, 20 million people are suffering from horrors of war, imprisonment and torture.

·         Every few seconds a child dies from preventive disease.

·         One seventh (¹/₇) of the world population is illiterate.

·         In USA, the world’s richest country, three (3) million people are homeless each year.

Probably the biggest gift you will ever receive is the huge investment your parents made in you. But they are not only the one that have given to you. During the course of your life you received many things from other people - teachers, relatives, strangers, etc.  Schools, hospitals, etc were built with tax dollars of those that preceded you. In fact, almost everything you use in your life has been made by someone else. The peace you enjoy today has been delivered by the sacrifice of others.

When you think about it you know countless people who have made a difference in your life        some negative, some positive, why not make a decision to have a positive impact in the lives of others, even if they are strangers.

You have two chances. You can decide to help and change lives, or you can decide to do nothing and lose the benefit of giving.

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation decided to put $35 billion into a foundation to address wide range of global issues, focusing on education in USA and health care in poor countries and in creating breakthroughs in deploying new vaccines and preventive measures against AIDs, other diseases and extreme poverty.

In June 2007, in his Harvard commencement speech, Bill Gates gave insight into why he gave time and money to reducing the world inequalities in health, education and developments.  “If you believe that every life has equal value, it’s revolting to learn that some lives are seen as worth saving and others not. We said to ourselves “this can’t be true. But if it is true, how could the world let these children die?”

The answer is simple and harsh. The market did not reward saving the lives of these children and government did not subsidize it. So the children died because their mothers and fathers had no power in the market and no voice in the system. But you and I have both.

This is why Warren Buffet gave over $30 billion of his fortunes to Bill Gates Foundation to pursue same purpose. When questioned why he decided to give all his money to this course he responded,

          “My gift is nothing. I can have everything I need with less than 1% of my wealth. I was born in the right country at the right time, and my work is disproportionately rewarded compared to teachers and soldiers. I’m just giving back the surplus claims that have no value to me but can do a lot for others. The people I really admire are the small donors who give up a movie or a restaurant meal to help needier people”.  If we all thought and acted like Buffet, we’d live in a very different world.

Chris Hohn and Jame Cooper, who provided medicine for over 10,000 children in China, when asked why he was giving on such a scale he said,

          “Beyond a certain point, which we have reached, money has no further value. It can bring happiness, but it can save or transform many lives”

Giving brings benefits like developing:

·         New relationship

·         Feeling of Security

·         Jobs

·         Good health

·         Sense of employment, pride and accomplishment

·         Happiness

·         Peace and love.

The paradox is that when you give expecting a reward, you won’t receive one. When you give with joy, selflessness and love, you benefit greatly. The attitude you bring to your giving will reflect the benefit you gain

When you give money, time or anything else with an expectation of a return on your investment, you defeat the purpose of giving. “There is no higher religion than that of human service” - Albert Schewitzer. “Each of us will be judged one day by our standard of life not our standard of living, by our measure of giving, not our measure of wealth, by our simple goodness, not by seeming greatness” - William Arthur Ward             

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go, some stay for a while and some leave footprints in our hearts and our lives are never the same again”.

What you can give to others to change the world

Love

True giving begins with love. Love is the most powerful force in the world and when we love, we are in touch with our basic and most fundamental human need.

All religions promotes generosity and care for others. In Christianity, there are three things that will endure – Faith, Hope, and Love, but the greatest of these is Love”

In Buddhism, one of the seven treasures practices most cultivated is generosity. In Judaism, Tzedakah or charity is the prescription to build better world and Jews are brought up to perform mitzarahs or good deeds. The Koran urges followers to help others and give to people in need. In Hinduism, generosity is handled and perceived as possible path to salvation.

So our friends, spouse, colleagues, co-workers, neighbours, acquaintances have the same need to be accepted and love that you have. That’s why the gift of compassion, understanding  and unconditional love is so important that it breaks the negative circle of relationship and leads to a revival of love and commitment because when people receive love, they learn to give love.

True love is selfless, it is free and liberated. It encourages change and growth. Love is tireless. It also takes time to develop. Deep love continues even after death. Love that is not expressed, however does not reach its fullest potential because the more one expresses love, the deeper it becomes. Forgiveness is a way to express love. Give all love you can to your family and friends while they are still alive and tell them often that you love them.

Laughter

It is a sign of life. It creates happiness and eliminates boundaries. It makes hard things easier. When we share our joy, it multiplies and when we share our sorrow, it diminishes.

Our lives today are pummeled by everything - from economic difficulties to war and health pandemics.  Everyone needs some laughter to ease stress of these and other problems.

Like many clichés, “laughter is the best medicine”, contains a lot of truth. Scientists have long known that when you laugh, your brain produces powerful chemical called “endorphins”. Endorphins ease pain, increase alertness and literally bring you the feeling of joy.

According to LAUGH website, a child laughs one hundred and fifty (150) times a day. An adult laugh only an average of fifteen (15) times a day. When you consider that adults with children certainly laugh more than 15 times a day, this may mean that many adults don’t laugh at all and that is not funny.

Laughter, like many qualities, has a potential negative side. It can be used in a cruel way to mock others, to discriminate or shame. Like any other tool, it must be wielded carefully and with sensitivity in order for its wonder and power to be displayed.

Knowledge

Everyone has a story to tell. An experience that can help other. Please always try and share them with others. When you share knowledge with others, you break down barriers, you build openness and trust. You become more valuable to your social network and to people you meet. The smartest people we know are also the most sharing and generous. By sharing their wisdom, they in turn, receive additional knowledge from others, thus showing that giving works both ways.

- one form of sharing knowledge is to give books of value to people we love because books can give a deeper understanding.

People appreciate receiving books that relates to issues affecting their lives.

- There are ways to give by taking away, i.e. if your kids spend too much time watching television, they can waste their lives away. You can reduce television time and increase reading time by putting the television away.

- One of the best gifts you can give yourself and other people, especially children, is the love of learning. Life time learning is much more than formal lectures and classes.

Leadership

Everybody possesses the seed of greatness. It takes only two (2) actions to become a leader.

·         Develop the necessary skills

·         Overcome your greatest barrier - fear.

Corporate leadership - No corporation thrives without giving to others. A business reaps profit and dividend in proportion to the service it gives customers, employees, shareholders, broader community and the world.

When corporate leaders give their time and wisdom to employees, they create new leaders in the team.  You can love people without leading them, but when you lead people you just must love them.

Hope

Aga Khan IV said “there are those who enter the world in such poverty that they are deprived of both the means and motivation to improve their lot. Unless they can be touched with the spark, which ignites the spirit of individual enterprise and determination, they will only sink into apathy, degradation and despair. It is for us who are more fortunate to provide the spark”. Kindness, mentoring, and listening are all way to help give hope to people who have lost hope.

Words can give hope. Words are like the power of God. Words trigger hope; light that help others see themselves better than they are. Words are like food for they nourish the body, soul and mind. Words are lamp for your feet so you can see where to walk. They are the light for the path way  so we can see where to go - purpose in life/goals.

LIFE

People have the power to save life. This could be taking someone out of crisis, blood donor, kidney donor or whatever gift that can save life.

TIME

We all have 24 hours a day and 168 hours in a week. Prioritize your time to the productive causes in life, family and assisting others or community jobs.

MONEY

As highlighted earlier on in the write up.

Skills

Sharing skills also gives back to you. The more you share your skills with others, the more you enhance them. You might also learn new skills.

HEALTH

One of the best gifts you can give to yourself and to those you love is the promotion of good health. Adopt healthy habits, eat healthy foods, and maintain an active lifestyle. Teach your children good health habits.

TOUCH

What gift can you give to children that will make them less aggressive and more understanding? Dr. Tifanny Field, a development psychologist and professor of pediatrics, believe it might be the gift of touch.

Statistics shows that level of violence among children in United States is tragically high.  Is lack of touch the only reason? Probably not, but people of all ages need to be touched, hugged, kissed and loved. It helps people going through emotional pains.

ATTENTION

One of the best gifts you can give people is your respect; displayed through active listening. The Chinese philosophy is to listen with the eyes, ears, heart and in divided attention.

Doctors knows the best ways to prescribe is first to diagnose, the best way to diagnose is to listen.  Always listen carefully.

ADVICE

All human creatures give advice.  Advise are compassionate and life enhancing.  We all should spend ¹/₃ of our time talking and ²/₃ listening to others.

THOSE WE SHOULD GIVE TO

Yourself

Our family- immediate/extended

Community

Others in need

HOW, WHEN, WHERE AND HOW MUCH TO GIVE

HOW TO GIVE

If your hand remained in your pocket - you can never shake hands with others, you can’t offer a hand of compassion, you can’t give a tender touch of love, and you can’t grow as a human until you first learn to remove your hand from your pockets.

Giving is better than not giving.  However when you give from the heart, it is very powerful. The receiver gets to feel that sincerity, depth, connection and impact.

According to philosopher Khalil Gibran - “To live in the heart of others is not to die”

Giving possession is good but giving of yourself and time to a cause or purpose has greater impact. When you give of yourself to others, the benefits they reap are sustained. You reward those who gave of themselves to you a long time, even after they have died.

-          Give with respect

-          Give with humility

-          Give unconditionally

-          Money tithing - give away 10% of your income each year.

-          Time tithing - devote 10% of your working time to other or to causes.

-          Idea tithing - share 10% of your good idea with others with no exception of return

-          Intra- personal tithing - committing time to improve yourself.

FINAL NOTE

Giving is a beautiful experience. By practicing giving you make a difference to others and yourself.  It is a powerful feeling to be able to give regularly.

By giving, you can live to your potential, avoid loneliness, become fearless, touch your spirit, and find meaning and fulfillment. The universe is abundant - “The more you are in flow of giving, the more abundance flow through you.”

There are no shortages of people and places you can give too. You can give to yourself, your family, colleagues, friends, your children, your community, nonprofit organizations, and the planet.

You can give the next generation many gifts. One of the best gifts you can give children is to teach them the beauty of giving. You can also teach them how to take care of the environment to make it a better place for future generation.

Everyone can give something - a smile, a prayer, a good thought. Giving can be tangible and intangible. You can give wisdom, love, laughter, time, money, skills, attention or forgiveness.

It is not only what you give that matters, but also how you give it. When you give unconditionally and with humility and respect, you create the biggest impact.

 

Culled from the Power of Giving by Azim Jamal & Harley McKinnon