Giving
Author: Boon Kiat Chua
I really got to say a big `Thank You' to the person who thought
of this quotation which I read many years ago and which I am
making it as one of my values in life; "The ability to share and
to give yield greater pleasure than to receive." It couldn't be
more true for me; when I am able to share something with someone
or able to give something to someone, I feel happy and at peace
with my inner self. You might be saying, "there is a limit to
what we can share and give to other." Naturally, I believe
(though I can't think of anything yet at this moment when I am
writing this) there are things in life that we cannot share and
cannot give to others and yet there are many things in life that
we can share and can give - like love, time and money.
Giving, according to dictionary.com, means to present
voluntarily and without expecting compensation. You must have
already heard more than a thousand times, "the more we give, the
more we receive." So to speak, if we want more love for example,
we have to give more love to start with. Wait a minute! Didn't
you cite from dictionary.com that giving is to present
voluntarily and without expecting compensation? I am not
contradicting myself, as much as it seems like it. Giving is an
act that comes naturally from the heart and goes in harmony with
your heart; just like a heartbeat. When you are truly giving,
the thought of compensation never comes into the picture.
However, the universe works in a magical way; the more you give
without the thought of compensation, the more you receive from
the universe. For some, you may see the effect immediately and
sometimes the effect may come much later when you least expected
it. There are other times the effect may fall on your future
generation. Just like the planting of trees - it takes a period
of many many years of nurturing from the day when the seedlings
are planted to the day when the trees are in full bloom before
they can provide shelter and logs. This means that there will be
times when you may not see the effect of your giving from the
universe in your life time … but it will come.
"Blessed are those that can give without remembering and take
without forgetting." — Liz Bebesco
"A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle." — Erin
Majors
Yesterday, I read an article writing about marriage and in that
article, the author mentioned that his and his wife view their
relationships as a `Saving account' which they deposit regularly
and very rarely do they expect to withdraw from it and there
will not be any penalties even when they do withdraw from it. I
can relate to the analogy given to a large extent. I believe
that in relationships, we have to constantly give without
expecting compensation and make it works. And yet it is only
human nature that when we give, we do expect something in return
sometimes. Don't be too hard on yourself or feel guilty about
it. No one is perfect in the world. However, we have the ability
to learn and to become better everyday.
There are many stories of people giving unconditional love to
people around them and I believe you may have heard of some of
these stories or have personally seen it before. Such stories
are always inspiring and they never failed to inspire you to be
a better person. The best examples of giving unconditional love
are from our own parents. I remembered a quotation which my
friend shared with me years ago,
Unconditional love - it is in the giving that you made the
other person realizes." — Unknown
Giving is often time associated with charity. Dictionary.com
defines charity as generous actions or donations to aid the
poor, ill, or helpless. I always believe that charity, like
giving, should and must be on a voluntarily basis and is an act
in harmony with the heart too. There had been successful charity
and fund raising shows in Singapore whereby companies and
organisation sponsored attractive prizes like condo units, cars,
cash prizes etc to lure people to make call to pledge their
donations. I must say that their marketing had been more than
successful and it did indeed attract a lot of donations from the
public and I never doubt their effectiveness. The marketing
aspect is needed to create public awareness for the show and the
beneficiaries where the donations from the show will go to. The
fundamental question is whether such charity shows had distorted
the true meaning of giving and charity?
A few years back when I was traveling for work purpose to some
developing countries, I always saw children roaming in the
streets and threading between cars caught in the traffic begging
for money. My heart empathized with them. I was reminded of how
fortunate the children of my country are and how fortunate I was
in my childhood. Much as I was very tempted to wind down the
window to give them a dollar or two, I did not. Why? You may
asked. For a very simple reason, I might have done more harm to
them than doing them a favor. No doubt the dollar or two will
feed them for a day or few days, but I am a strong believer in
the preaching that if you teach a man to fish, it will feed the
man for life.
If you were to ask me, "How often should we give and when
should we give?" I will say, "As often as you can and as often
as you want to." As to the question, "When", there is never a
better time than now to start giving. Remember that, "a candle
loses nothing by lighting another candle," let us be a candle
that lights up the lives of other.
About The Author: The author, Boon Kiat Chua is keen on sharing
experience, stories & tips in helping people to improve their
relationships with family, friends, & people around them. Find
inspiring stories at http://www.symphonyoflove.net/blog. Watch
'What is Love' at http://www.symphonyoflove.net/whatislove.html
Author: Boon Kiat Chua
I really got to say a big `Thank You' to the person who thought
of this quotation which I read many years ago and which I am
making it as one of my values in life; "The ability to share and
to give yield greater pleasure than to receive." It couldn't be
more true for me; when I am able to share something with someone
or able to give something to someone, I feel happy and at peace
with my inner self. You might be saying, "there is a limit to
what we can share and give to other." Naturally, I believe
(though I can't think of anything yet at this moment when I am
writing this) there are things in life that we cannot share and
cannot give to others and yet there are many things in life that
we can share and can give - like love, time and money.
Giving, according to dictionary.com, means to present
voluntarily and without expecting compensation. You must have
already heard more than a thousand times, "the more we give, the
more we receive." So to speak, if we want more love for example,
we have to give more love to start with. Wait a minute! Didn't
you cite from dictionary.com that giving is to present
voluntarily and without expecting compensation? I am not
contradicting myself, as much as it seems like it. Giving is an
act that comes naturally from the heart and goes in harmony with
your heart; just like a heartbeat. When you are truly giving,
the thought of compensation never comes into the picture.
However, the universe works in a magical way; the more you give
without the thought of compensation, the more you receive from
the universe. For some, you may see the effect immediately and
sometimes the effect may come much later when you least expected
it. There are other times the effect may fall on your future
generation. Just like the planting of trees - it takes a period
of many many years of nurturing from the day when the seedlings
are planted to the day when the trees are in full bloom before
they can provide shelter and logs. This means that there will be
times when you may not see the effect of your giving from the
universe in your life time … but it will come.
"Blessed are those that can give without remembering and take
without forgetting." — Liz Bebesco
"A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle." — Erin
Majors
Yesterday, I read an article writing about marriage and in that
article, the author mentioned that his and his wife view their
relationships as a `Saving account' which they deposit regularly
and very rarely do they expect to withdraw from it and there
will not be any penalties even when they do withdraw from it. I
can relate to the analogy given to a large extent. I believe
that in relationships, we have to constantly give without
expecting compensation and make it works. And yet it is only
human nature that when we give, we do expect something in return
sometimes. Don't be too hard on yourself or feel guilty about
it. No one is perfect in the world. However, we have the ability
to learn and to become better everyday.
There are many stories of people giving unconditional love to
people around them and I believe you may have heard of some of
these stories or have personally seen it before. Such stories
are always inspiring and they never failed to inspire you to be
a better person. The best examples of giving unconditional love
are from our own parents. I remembered a quotation which my
friend shared with me years ago,
Unconditional love - it is in the giving that you made the
other person realizes." — Unknown
Giving is often time associated with charity. Dictionary.com
defines charity as generous actions or donations to aid the
poor, ill, or helpless. I always believe that charity, like
giving, should and must be on a voluntarily basis and is an act
in harmony with the heart too. There had been successful charity
and fund raising shows in Singapore whereby companies and
organisation sponsored attractive prizes like condo units, cars,
cash prizes etc to lure people to make call to pledge their
donations. I must say that their marketing had been more than
successful and it did indeed attract a lot of donations from the
public and I never doubt their effectiveness. The marketing
aspect is needed to create public awareness for the show and the
beneficiaries where the donations from the show will go to. The
fundamental question is whether such charity shows had distorted
the true meaning of giving and charity?
A few years back when I was traveling for work purpose to some
developing countries, I always saw children roaming in the
streets and threading between cars caught in the traffic begging
for money. My heart empathized with them. I was reminded of how
fortunate the children of my country are and how fortunate I was
in my childhood. Much as I was very tempted to wind down the
window to give them a dollar or two, I did not. Why? You may
asked. For a very simple reason, I might have done more harm to
them than doing them a favor. No doubt the dollar or two will
feed them for a day or few days, but I am a strong believer in
the preaching that if you teach a man to fish, it will feed the
man for life.
If you were to ask me, "How often should we give and when
should we give?" I will say, "As often as you can and as often
as you want to." As to the question, "When", there is never a
better time than now to start giving. Remember that, "a candle
loses nothing by lighting another candle," let us be a candle
that lights up the lives of other.
About The Author: The author, Boon Kiat Chua is keen on sharing
experience, stories & tips in helping people to improve their
relationships with family, friends, & people around them. Find
inspiring stories at http://www.symphonyoflove.net/blog. Watch
'What is Love' at http://www.symphonyoflove.net/whatislove.html
