I’ve been thinking a lot about generosity and giving. Are they the same thing? If not, how are they different? For anyone who is caring for children and/or aging parents, you are likely giving every ounce of your energy and every spare minute of your time to loved ones. You are not alone! Although the act of giving is an act of love, it can be exhausting. Particularly, when there is nothing left to give to yourself and to the greater community. I believe that generosity is how we gift our love to the human collective – to ourselves, our family and the greater community. Generosity feels good. It is never exhausting.

So, how do we get better at being generous?

For me, the answer lies in the generosity of spirit and finding a way to share the essence of your love with others. It is sharing the gift of you. Your light. Your inner voice. Your song. It is sharing a piece of your heart in a way that uplifts others, with no strings attached. There is no consequence to being generous; there is only the opportunity for love to be shared and received.

In my experience, giving is when you give something with a cost associated with it. For example, you give a physical item, like a gift of jewelry, that costs money. Or you give an intangible thing, like time, which may cost you your energy.

I learned the distinction between generosity and giving when I began sharing my soul voice with others through my written work. I shared openly and honestly on social media, in my blog and in my book with the intention of connecting with others on a deeper human level. I didn’t think about whether my words would be received with grace or with haste, or whether my book would be received with open arms or with criticism. I simply shared my voice because it felt like the only way to offer my authenticity with others.

I learned how to share my truth from author and poet, Mark Nepo. He believes that being generous with your gift is a spiritual act. It requires you to look at yourself – your love, your gift – as an offering, not a commodity. It is a meeting of the hearts, not the minds. People can receive you or not. They can take your offering or leave it. When you are being generous, you expect nothing in return.

Beware of the near enemy of generosity

I often need to remind myself that I am not sharing my gift when I am giving every ounce of my energy to others. This is depleting and can quickly lead to resentment and bitterness. As Brené Brown would say, there is a “near enemy” of generosity. I’m not sure if she has stated it in her work but, for me, the near enemy of generosity is expectation. Reciprocity. If there is an underlying feeling or expectation that you want to be given something in return for your act of giving or service, this is not generosity. True generosity has no strings attached. When you are generous, there is no need for a part of you to be fulfilled. You are simply fulfilled by the offering of your love in your unique way.

Burnout vs. Fulfillment 

Perhaps this sums up the topic for us… Burnout happens when we give too much time and energy to others. Fulfillment happens when we share our love and values with others.

Unwrapping your gift

How do you discover your gift? Here are a few things to consider. Your gift may be your voice, your story, your cooking, your dancing. Here are some questions to ask yourself to help you unwrap your gift:

• How does your way of being lift someone else’s spirits? (focus on what you share with others, not what you do for others)
• How do you show up with love for your friends or community? (focus on ways you love, not things you give)
• How do you make love in the world? (think about things you create – similar to making babies but more like making gifts for the world that are not in human form 🙂
• How do you feed your soul?

If we all share our love in our own unique ways, we will feed each other. We will lift each other’s spirits. When we share our gifts, the uplift of loving energy happens on a large scale and we feed the collective consciousness with love.

Friends, I encourage you to unwrap your gift, open it to the world and share it. This is how we fill our well of well-being and lift each other up on the path to authenticity.

Thank you for being here and doing the work with me. Next time, we’ll explore the topic of empowerment.

Let’s journey together.

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With love,