I may not be the greatest business person; I would give away the farm if asked.

I am however the best person I can be and when I am old and sitting on my verandah in my rocking chair and reflecting on my life, I think I may be the happiest with that success.

 

My best memories are not of mergers and great acquisitions, although I have a few, they are of smiles and grateful thanks where my generosity has made a significant difference in the lives of others.

 

At a flea market when I give a small child a free ring and they smile like I have given them the moon, when I hire my friend to help me and she is disabled and the motivation to her self confidence that I recognize her contribution as important. When I donate to the local thrift store for their annual bazaar the nicest items they have to sell.

These things bring me great joy. All the recipients are very grateful but the giving brings me the most joy.

 

I have learned that the joy of giving is the greatest joy and although my motives are somewhat selfish the result is still beneficial. When you can make a difference at a level where it counts, isn’t that the biggest success you can have?

 

There are people that donate and recycle and glimpse a little of the spirit of giving but if I could only impress upon them the magnitude of what we could do with a little more effort and thought. When you truly give of yourself, your time and attention, that giving not only goes the further distance but it bounces back in a beneficial way to the giver. We were not put here on earth to go without, to sacrifice from ourselves to give to others, there is no reward for the martyr at the end, and we are to share what we have acquired. Knowledge, abundance and love.

 

When we listen we give from our heart. When we give our time and effort we give from the heart. When we share our knowledge we give from the heart and sometimes a well placed gift of abundance is also of the heart. If I drop off my used unwanted and unsorted items to the Salvation Army I give but if I take the those same items and source out an appropriate homes for them, where they are needed and spend some time with the people that I give them to helping them to share my experience with the items and maybe a little more I am giving from the heart. Why the difference? One is ridding myself of clutter, the other is giving.

 

The responsibility of finding new homes for items that I have purchased has trifold benefits. First it impacts my spending to lessen my imprint if everything I purchase is going to require the additional time to find a correct home when I have finished with it, I would definitely purchase less. Second, it gives me the opportunity to share some of my growth and knowledge with others by sourcing a home with need and thirdly it gives me the opportunity to be grateful for my ability to purchase the item in the first place.

 

The world is full of unwanted and unused items. Our rate of consumption here is scary. With not enough room in the landfill for all of the items we consume we can share the responsibility of finding places for everything we purchase. We can connect with people that need more than our unused items. This is one place where the opportunity to change the world lies.

 

“Be The Change You Wish to See in the World”

Ghandi