Heal Yourself-06

– Be Generous

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one.” —Mother

Teresa

A generous person is not required to give all their possessions

away. A generous person is also not required to allow others to

push them around. Being generous involves firstly, the readiness

to give or being willing to give more than is required.

Being generous takes kindness to the next level. You might be

kind at heart, and often think about helping others, but unless you

actually take them time to actually get the ball rolling in offering

your time, energy or other resources for the benefit of another

individual, you have not truly mastered the art of being generous.

Generosity moves us to give of ourselves willingly, and expect

nothing in return.

I know you should be wondering how giving away your assets can

help you live a better life. The truth is that many often regard

generosity of one of the keys to being truly happy in this

miserable world. In fact, many medical practitioners will attest to

the fact that being generous is also very good for your health. In

fact, here are some of the proven benefits of giving generously:

• Reduced stress

• Lessening the likelihood of suffering from depression

• Increased sense of purpose

• Greater happiness

• Stronger families and marriages

• Less clutter

• Reduced risk of dementia

• Greater appreciation for all that you have

• More likely to benefit from the generosity of others

A generous person often seeks out opportunities to do good for

others. Just think about volunteers who make their way to help

out at Soup Kitchens every weekend. Those of us brave enough

to sign up for the Peace Corps are also considered quite

generous. But simply helping an elderly lady with her grocery

bags, or stopping to allow a child to cross the road, can be

considered generous. This kind of concern for others proves

beneficial because it forces us to focus on the needs of others

instead of on our own problems. Anything that minimizes the

effect of our problems, whether in our relationships or even

financially, will have a direct effect on our health. Being generous

protects us from all the cynicism and narcissism that makes it so

hard to navigate our way through this world.

I would, however, encourage you to be cautious as you endeavor

to be more generous. Be very careful of the way in which you

demonstrate your generosity. Please be especially careful when

being generous to members of the opposite sex. If you are

already taken, and you don’t want to send the wrong impression,

avoid gifts or favors that are personal in nature. A personal gift is

anything related to one’s body. Perfume, for example, would be

considered a personal gift.

Please also bear in mind that your own safety may come into play

when being generous. Many people have gotten robbed when

asked by a seemingly homeless person to give some money.

Reaching into your wallet or bag, and revealing where your cash

is kept, and how much cash you have, is a bad idea, no matter

how needy the person may appear to be. A safer option would be

to let the person know that you will return with a gift.

I would strongly suggest that you go to a secure location, one that

is away from prying eyes, and package everything that you would

like to donate to this individual in advance. My final word of

caution is that you need to feel out the person before being too

generous. Some people like spontaneity and others prefer if you

first ask them if they need your help. Even the best of intentions

can put you in awkward situations if they are not executed

correctly.

We have discussed at length, how improving various aspects of

your own personality can help you to heal yourself, and avoid a lot

of the emotional baggage that comes along with the negativity in

this world. The final of this book holds the most important key to

healing all the scars caused by this nasty world. Please read on to

learn more about what that is.