Giving wisely, the concept of giving to those less fortunate or the activity of ‘giving’ for giving’s sake!
I have always been of the belief and practise that if you give open heartedly without wanting anything in return inevitably the Universe will ultimately bless you with the things you need. In other words giving altruistically is the purest form of giving.
Of course as is human nature we all sometimes ‘give’ with just a little hope or notion that we will be rewarded for this either by Hashem, or the new job we have interviewed for or the trip overseas that we are struggling to afford. Nevertheless it is about intention and action and all religions and spiritualities recommend giving selflessly as a way to healing and nurturance for our souls and spirits and eventually this act of giving, is helpful and definitely supportive to those who are in need. More philosophically there are those who believe that it is in our very natures and personalities that we are giving, whether it is being affable to people in the street, or giving an indigent person a smile and acknowledgement of a shared humanity (ubuntu) or that extra apple we didn’t eat in the office or in the way, manner that we tip and appreciate the good service of a waitron in a restaurant.
Strangely this morning and how coincidental that I saw a bill board driving to work that said ‘You have truly lived if you give someone something that you expect no repayment for’. Yes this is the cherry on the top.
The rhetoric and moralising that surrounds ‘giving’ in a conventional sense is too apparent. Do not give street children money they will just use drugs, rather give it to an institution that will benefit them in more positive ways.
Whilst I agree with these sentiments, I put myself in the other’s shoes and I think that if I were 10 yrs young, deprived of a safe loving family and living on the erratic and violent streets of Cape Town I might sniff glue myself. Although I am not advocating this as the answer I do, however, know that some giving needs to be spontaneous, from the heart, generous and without a second thought. I do know from having lived in Israel/Palestine/England and Germany for many years in each, that the matter of ‘giving wisely’ is a complex global and universal aspect of everyday lived reality. Some of us struggle with when whom what and how to give, whatever it is we are giving.
Speak Your Mind