I'm a giver, not a taker.

Dedicated to my daughter, Nora.

"Nora" means "God is my light".

I love you.

In the depths of my being,

the heart whispers:

I'm a giver, not a taker.

I bestow recognition,

... love,

... embraces,

... attention,

... knowledge,

... experience,

... expertise,

... patience,

... trust,

... support,

... understanding,

... time,

... inspiration,

... comfort,

... energy,

... advice,

... creativity,

... joy,

... compassion,

... encouragement,

... motivation,

... gratitude,

... respect,

... openness,

... kindness,

... humor,

... ideas,

... perspectives,

... wisdom,

... courage.

I give EVERYTHING.

All that I have.

Always.

I give.

And if everyone were like this,

Would anyone lack anything?

But in the shadow of giving,

The flaw lies hidden.

A riddle of altruism.

Where the scales always tip,

And the heart,

full of devotion,

Rarely reaps the harvest of its seeds.

In the endless offering,

In the tirelessness of giving,

Losing oneself.

In a world full of takers.

In the echo of one's own goodwill,

A call that never echoes back.

Oh, the mystique of the human heart,

Entangled in a web of sacrifice and hope.

Where balance is only an illusion,

And the giver, exhausted, asks:

Where tf is my share?

Yet even in the loneliness of giving,

In the darkness of the unspoken,

A light flickers, a spark of truth:

That in every act of giving,

Dwells a touch of divinity,

And the heart, in giving,

Plays a universal melody,

That resonates

deep in the depths of the soul.

- Christopher Hüneke