Category: Generosity & Kindness

“If nature has made you for a giver, your hands are born open, and so is your heart; and though there may be times when your hands are empty, your heart is always full, and you can give things out of that--warm things, kind things, sweet things--help and comfort and laughter.”  ― Frances Hodgson Burnett, A Little Princess Humanity is comprised of three types of people: takers, givers and matchers. While the first two are more well-known personas, “matchers” are people who will only give when they know they’ll get something back in return. What kind of person are you? Over the last decade, I’ve realized that givers are in the minority. While the matchers of the world still brand themselves as givers, that’s only to ease the guilt of their self-serving…

“No one has ever become poor by giving.” – Anne Frank The other day, my wife and I found a $5 bill while out shopping. For my millennial co-worker, she would have screamed, “YES!” with a greedy growl. But for us it seemed wrong to simply pocket the money, which admittedly now represented a loss to someone else. The two of us quickly agreed that we should donate this found money to someone who needs it much more than we do. My commute home from work is littered with people standing on street corners begging for donations. We both decided that one of these individuals would be the recipient of that $5. Ironically, as soon as we made that decision, I couldn’t get rid of the money. It seemed I…

I recently stumbled upon a book entitled 365 Thank Yous – The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life by John Kralik. As with so many of us, John’s life didn’t play out exactly as he planned. Now in his early 50’s, every facet of his life was crumbling around him from his career, to his finances to the relationships he once fostered with family and friends. Lost in a state of hopelessness, John went for a walk one New Year’s Day. It was during that time when he realized he needed to stop focusing on what he didn’t have and instead find some way to be grateful for all that he did. His solution was to acknowledge all the acts of kindness he received with a…

“If they don't appreciate your presence, perhaps you should try giving them your absence.” - Tinku Razoria The year 2016 is coming to a close. As is customary, I often find myself pondering the challenges and discoveries of the last twelve months. Today, as I sit here writing this post, I find myself reflecting on the people of 2016. Most notably, those selfless individuals who continually find themselves on the receiving end of being taken for granted. Some might argue that those who find themselves in such circumstances are in fact the ones to blame. That their good-natured, compassionate behavior is often the reason why they’re exploited by those who are more self-serving. My grandmother was a wonderful person – raised to be caring, selfless and available to offer assistance to…