Charity is a Blessing for All

As it gets darker and cooler, we naturally head inward.  Many of us use this inner time to take stock of what we have and let go of what we no longer need to hold. 

Maya Angelou wrote, “when we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”  Giving within our capacity has a wondrous way of affirming our purpose and our enduring connection to each other.

When we look at charity as a blessing for all involved, it stops being a transaction.  I don’t expect anything from the giftee because by giving, I have already received enough.  

Wouldn’t it be nice if we were able to view giving like that all the time?  Those who didn’t have enough of something would be able to enjoy the use of things that weren’t previously being used.  And those who had too many of something would be free from the burden of carrying the surplus.

It’s not just things either.  When I feel an abundance of love and joy, it costs me nothing to send that on to another.  Not only is it free to give, it multiplies when given and often comes back to me ten-fold.

When I have the resources (either inner or outer) to give, it feels good to send something I’m not using to another.  Swami Satchidananda said that a “gift should be given with the whole heart. Don’t even call it helping. Call it service, because you are the one who benefits by it.”

However, at this time of year it’s easy to accidentally give beyond our capacity - filling our calendar with endless commitments and events, overspending, overeating…  

Then, we arrive at whatever we’ve over-committed to and feel resentment because we’re overdrawn.  We’ve given something that is outside our capacity to give. And as Sonia Sumar often tells her students, “you cannot give what you do not have.”

If you don’t feel peaceful, there’s no way you can create peace.  If you don’t love yourself, there’s no way to give love to others.  If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t truly take care of another.

When I feel tapped out, I’m going to try to remember that giving is an act that should benefit all parties.  If I try to be of service to another when I don’t actually have anything to give, I’m not doing anyone any favors, least of all myself. 

And if I can’t be of service to myself, I certainly can’t be of good service to anyone else.