Why Giving? Amid forty US billionaires´ (and Africa´s only billionaire, Patrice Motsepe´s) pledge to donate at least half of their fortunes to charity under a philanthropic campaign powered by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, this article looks at the art of giving - why we do and why we don´t. Why would millionaires give away half of their fortunes? Why would a business school make all of its learning material available for free? ‘Why would people offer their empowering books for free?’ Simple. Because giving itself is really the gift that keeps on giving back. Learning to receive Learning how to give is important but this starts with learning how to receive. While this may seem like a paradoxical statement, it gets at the very heart of how altruism works. When we are open to the gifts we receive every day (and these may be as simple as good health, loyal friends, or a beloved pet), we open up a portal between ourselves and the rest of the Universe (which includes our fellow human beings). What makes this portal magical is that it is multidirectional, i.e. once it’s open, generosity can flow both into and out of it. So how exactly do we open up this portal? How do we learn to be good at receiving? To be good at receiving requires gratitude. With practice, you can teach yourself to be aware of what you have to be grateful for – and then to feel that gratitude to your very core. It seems like a simple enough task but, for most of us, it is a difficult habit to form. This is because people are, by our very nature, critical thinkers – we focus on what needs to change (the negative) and ignore what is already going well (the positive). Once you let go of your resentment over the negative aspects of your life, your mind can make space to become aware of everything you have for which to be grateful. And so the portal slowly begins to open. And when you feel the energy, the overflowing joy that comes with letting go of your resentment and frustration, you will want to share it. The sensation of one´s cup overflowing is a very real one; and you won´t want to waste a drop of that golden liquid. For most of us, having more than we need seems inconceivable because we convince ourselves daily that we do not have enough. We are, as best-selling author and motivational speaker Eckhart Tolle puts it, frozen in a perpetual state of “thwarted wanting” – and nothing will ever be enough for us. Believing that your blessings are already abundant (and can never be otherwise) takes away that feeling of want and replaces it with an overwhelming sense of peace and quiet joy. The joy of giving What happens after you have enough? The next step, the act of giving, will come effortlessly if you have truly embraced all that you already have in life. What´s more, you will soon discover that being able to give, even if it is only a little bit, is a joyful and rewarding event. For, as you will see, giving and getting are actually synonymous – when you give, you give both to yourself and to the other. Knowing that you have improved the world in some way is an unrivalled pleasure. You will also discover that not all people are able to receive with gratitude – but this is okay – genuine altruism is vested purely in the act of giving itself. This is also the most rewarding way to give because you do not risk losing anything in the process. To give unconditionally, without expecting even acknowledgement in return, is an act of creation. This is why, although it may not always be possible to give as much as you want to, you will always have something to give. Even the smallest contributions can make a large difference. Count on it, you will be rewarded. But you cannot predict the form that this reward will take. If you are a willing conduit, open and alert to every opportunity presented to you, you will see the abundance that the universe always lays along your path and you will also know what to do with it. Less spiritually conscious people may interpret this as serendipity; but some know that our good fortune is no happy accident – it is the expression of our oneness with all that surrounds us. So it is not surprising then that generous people seem to always be happy, ever-more joyful with each act of giving. When you speak to them about their lives, it seems as if doors just open for them wherever they turn. If you are still absorbed in our critical way of thinking, you may become jealous and attribute their good fortune to pure luck. But we know different, don´t we? We know that these people are simply experiencing their own generosity, reflected back to them by a universe with which they are in perfect harmony. And don´t mistake this for pseudoscience either. Extensive psychological testing has proven that altruism and generosity contribute directly to increased happiness in the giver. Furthermore, the principles of giving apply no less to companies than they do to people. Those who give, tap into the underlying support structure of the Universe and share it with others. It gives a solid foundation for everything they do in life and the strength to achieve their goals and stand up for their beliefs. Companies (and this starts at the very top) that fail to realise this will never achieve greatness. Selfish people do not tend to contribute to or build strong organisations that grow – their obsessive focus on the bottom line at the expense of all else causes them to become dangerously short-sighted. There is, however, a stigma attached to corporate philanthropy. Many companies feel that corporate giving is a waste of company resources and a tax on shareholders. But the growing public consensus is that companies have a moral obligation to improve the communities in which they do business. So most companies go through the motions, never truly engaging in the act of giving and squeezing whatever self-serving benefit they can from the process. But the public is not fooled. We are aware that what the company wants us to believe is a selfless act is really a strategy to increase brand value, a means to enjoy tax breaks or a diversion tactic in times of negative media coverage. Companies that operate in this way see charity only as a means to an end; and not the end in itself that it really is. Like their individual counterparts, self-serving companies continue to forge furiously ahead in their efforts to gain more, never stopping long enough to realise that they are already wallowing in excess. Consider volunteering One of the purest forms of giving is volunteerism. It is an act in which you truly share a part of yourself with the world. Unfortunately, in South Africa and Africa, a culture of volunteerism does not really exist. We in Africa would do well to take a leaf out of the books of countries like the US, where volunteerism makes up a multi-billion-dollar chunk of the economy. Volunteerism, more than any form of giving, contributes to the giver´s sense of wellbeing. Those who volunteer know the euphoria of the “helpers high” (Alan Luks), a phenomenon has been extensively documented and studied. Conclusion Most of us are forever resolving to “give more” but few actually go so far as to actually act on the impulse. Now that you know that giving starts with gratitude, however, you will find yourself naturally giving more – at first sharing smiles and laughter, and then giving more and more of yourself. If this is what you are resolved to do, prepare for overwhelming and unexpected bounty – every single day. Whether you are giving in your personal capacity or as a company, make sure that it comes from the right place. Creating a culture of volunteerism in your company is a wonderfully creative way to tap into people´s natural spirit of giving, developing individuals while also adding value to communities. In the end, if you truly give of yourself, there is no way you can lose. Adopted from an article by Regenesys:”The joy of giving”. Regenesys is a tertiary distance learning institution in South Africa regenesys.co.za Please like this page if you enjoyed the article
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 21:57:16 +0000
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