Giving

What you give you get, ten times over.

- Yoruba proverb

We have been trained and conditioned to give gifts on specific occasions. Occasionally we give gifts to those who have a special meaning to us. Unfortunately, this kind of giving is more often for ourselves than for the person receiving the gift. Usually, we tell ourselves, "I don't have anything to give." We have been miseducated about gift-giving. We believe gifts must always bear a price tag or be given for a particular reason or season.

It is this kind of thinking that causes a drought in our giving supply. The real joy in giving comes when we give what we have spontaneously, with no reason other than for the joy of giving. It is this kind of giving that opens the door for us to receive. When we give for the sake of giving, rather than out of duty, we will begin to understand. We give our time, our energy, out thoughts.

We can give a book when we've finished it, something we can no longer wear or use, pay the toll for the car behind us, or give someone we don't know a compliment. We actually have a great deal to give in many ways.

How often can we say, "I give joyously from my heart just for the sake of giving?"