GIVE FOR THE RIGHT REASONS......

I love this picture......This is Alex and his new razor.....he is 21 and just home from a mission ......and I guess he forgot how to drive the past two years?????  We tried to teach him when you see a big rock in the road.......you go around it and not over it!......These boys?  I hope he remembers to use his seat belt.

Some days we just seem to get stuck in our "STUFF"......a world against us day or a poor me day.  One woman's story made me think.....She was instructed......when she got to feel she had nothing......to find a homeless woman on the street.....buy her a meal and give her a couple of dollars.  She tried this and said ,"When I handed the food and wad of dollar bills to this woman, something profound happened to me."...She continued...."I was over whelmed with humility and felt very comforted and peaceful.   I also felt a rush of energy that refueled my spirit that, less then one hour ago , felt drained.....Giving that night felt like a gift to me.  When I am in service to another person, I am moving from place of self-centeredness to selflessness.  The act of giving inherently carries gratitude in it......For me, it is impossible to give without feeling gratitude."    When she went home she prayed with gratitude for her warm house, enough food to eat and clothes to wear and was warm and safe.......she could shower and not have to beg for money........ This person's good deed made me realize I have much more to do in my life......besides feel sorry for myself.  Here are the lessons she felt she learned from this one good deed......1.  When I give with an open heart, I receive the profound gift of humility.........2.  Gratitude keeps my heart open.......3.  Giving opens space for me to receive because giving and receiving are part of the same naturally reciprocal cycle..  4.  Selflessness does not mean giving of myself to the extent that I am left depleted.  5.  When I give, I am living the practice of being truly human.   6.  I rarely move back into a place of scarcity when I remember to give mindfully each day.