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Let’s celebrate the joy of giving! Believe me or not, giving is all about getting or in other words, the more you give, the more you receive.
Yes, it’s a secret barter where you give something that you have and receive happiness without asking for it. However, when you give something, you should not expect anything in return.
You give with all your heart, and forget about it. The funny thing is that you’re most happy when your act of giving has no selfish motives.
I looked up the dictionary and there it glorifies giving as “disposing of property by voluntary transfer without receiving value in return.”
Isn’t this a wonderful and humane concept? This is what I believe in, and giving has been in fact the reason why I started Aha!NOW.
Giving and helping people is what everyone should do. I take pleasure in saying that the Aha!NOW blog community is so generous in sharing their thoughts, views, and experiences with others, and I humbly thank them for doing that.
Generosity is nothing but the habit of giving. Blessed are those people who are generous and believe in the joy of giving.
It’s definitely an act of philanthropy that spreads happiness and peace, and lets goodness prevail in the world!
“For it is in giving that we receive.” ~ St. Francis of Assisi
Joy of Giving
What prompted me to write this post is the Joy of Giving Week in India that runs through Oct 2nd to Oct 8th.
There couldn’t be a better day to start than Oct 2nd, which is also the International Day of Non-Violence as it’s the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, who’s known to have used non-violent sacrifice and selfless giving so that others could have freedom and peace.
This special week is an effort to revive the human values and an opportunity to remind us that our spirit rules over matter.
Joy of Giving is an event that celebrates humanity. I hope all Indians would volunteer in any capacity to be a part of this noble cause.
But why only Indians, all citizens of the world celebrate humanity because giving is a human trait and behavior that everyone can practice – isn’t it?
There are people and organizations around the world that promote the spirit of giving, and have even assigned different days for this purpose.
Do you know there is an index that ranks nations based on the most giving – by its citizens in terms of money, time, and helping strangers?
Though these statistics cannot be taken as a benchmark of humanity, but it’s an effort to motivate nations and people to create more caring and sharing societies.
Not only nations, but all religions of the world believe in giving and being generous, and emphasize on selfless service.
All human beings should adopt charitable behavior as part of their integral personality.
Giving to charity is one aspect of caring and sharing. Nevertheless, you can do that individually too in various ways while you celebrate the joy of giving.
“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” ~ Mother Teresa
How to Help Others
If you want to help others, then I’d say it’s a very noble thought and you can execute that in ways depending on your choice, interest, and capacity.
Here’s a list of things you can do, and I’m sure you’d have more ideas that I’d like you to mention in the comments so that everyone can benefit from them.
Donate Money
This tops the list as it’s not only one of the most convenient and easiest ways to help others, but also a very effective way.
You can donate money to charities, NGOs, not-for-profit organizations, religious organizations, places of worship, schools, hospitals, orphanages, individuals, and the list can go on.
It is popularly known that money can’t buy happiness, but by giving it can help spread happiness and you receive happiness along with satisfaction, which is almost like a reward.
No wonder why many billionaires world over believe in giving away chunks of their wealth. Donating money makes you experience the joy of giving.
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Give Time
Not everyone has money to spare, and that’s understood. You need to first take care of yourself and your family.
But if you can afford to, then give your time to volunteer for charities and organizations that run programs to help and care for the needy and people with disabilities, or even help fundraising for them.
You can give time for community or public service activities like cleaning the park, caring for the elderly in old age homes, or even babysitting for the working parents.
Your time is worth it because as people say, time is money! Remember, you don’t only give your time but even your own self, which is truly a selfless service, and you should be happy about it.
MUST READ: Time Spent Helping Others Is Never Wasted Time
Contribute Resources
In your busy life and hectic schedule, it’s not easy to take out time for social activities. Though you should always try to do that, one thing you can do instead is to share your resources.
These resources are your knowledge and skills.
You can volunteer to help create free homes for the homeless if you’re a construction worker, or teach the illiterate people if you’re a teacher.
You can empower the poor kids to learn and develop applications if you’re a computer geek, or you can spread awareness about giving and helping if you’re a blogger or an Internet marketer.
These are just a few examples, though there are numerous other ways you can help depending on your capacity and skills.
If not your knowledge or skill, then you can donate your material resources like clothes, toys, sports equipment, books, stationery, utensils, or any other personal belongings to celebrate the joy of giving.
Charity always begins from home, that’s what my Mom used to say – and she was a huge selfless ‘giver’. 🙂
Share Love
Love is a great healing positive energy and it is the basis of humanity. Everybody is capable of loving and everyone should spread love through his or her thoughts, words, and actions.
You should become love teachers and have love for others, and then only you can do genuine selfless service to help strangers.
You can give your love to others at any place you are, and the easiest way is simply smiling at strangers, giving compliments and greeting them while walking on the road!
I have even heard of some people who distribute “free hugs” to unknown people, send flowers to people in distress to make their day, and celebrate for others to make them happy.
You can even prepare food and distribute it among the homeless, or share your “social love” on the posts that you read in the blogosphere to enjoy the joy of giving. 🙂
Pledge organs
Did you know that your entire body can help save the life of as many as 50 people!
Some of your body organs can be transplanted to the needy while you’re alive and the rest after your death. All you need to do is to register yourself at the concerned health centers and organizations.
You not only save the life of people whom you donate your organs to, but you even give help and support to their families with your selfless act.
Can there be anything greater than giving or saving a life?
There’s no joy of giving greater than making others happy, and the happiness that you see on the faces of the people you help is your biggest prize!
Help animals
Human beings are supposed to be the most intelligent species on this planet, and the most capable ones to help the other species.
Humanity is not only being concerned about the humans. Instead, the religion of humanity also encompasses the other animals, as they too need care and help.
It’s good if you keep a pet, and it’s great if you help the needy, stray, or wild animals by supplying them food, providing medication and shelter, protecting them from poachers, or in any other possible ways.
You can experience the joy of giving by joining the animal aid centers or your local community campaigns to help animals.
For example, there are incidents when sea animals are brought ashore by the waves and they aren’t able to go back into the waters – it’s your time to act and help them!
Or when you see a stray and injured animal, the least you can do is call the animal helpline so that they are taken care of and given timely treatment.
Save the environment
The world has given us everything, and we know how unique and special our Earth is. The future of the Earth depends on us, and we give back to the world or Earth by being its caretakers.
You can save the Earth by changing your lifestyle and by taking proactive measures to save the planet that includes the flora, fauna, physical composition of the Earth, and the atmosphere.
Live in a way that does not impact the environment negatively, and help create awareness about it amongst the ignorant people.
Some of the things that you can do is use less paper and save trees, drive less and save oil, eat moderately and save food, and use less harmful gases and save the ozone!
You can even plant more trees, help create clean water reservoirs, and try to make your area pollution free and see what beautiful changes your giving brings to your environment.
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“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” ~ Winston Churchill
You can make a difference, and you can be a philanthropist in the capacity you’re in. You too can experience the joy of giving and help create a change in the world.
There are more things you can do to contribute your share of peace and happiness to the world.
This can be your way of expressing gratitude towards life and the planet, your way of saying thank you by giving back.
Though the Joy of Giving Week is taking place in India, you can experience happiness by helping others in any corner of the world.
I think such days are great reminders for us to reach out and help others, aren’t they? However, you can celebrate the joy of giving anytime YOU want, without waiting for any specific day or week!
Make giving a part of your life and your family tradition so that your children learn the spirit of giving and it passes on to the future generations.
Here’s a video that may touch your heart and make you see the importance of giving. Yes, it’s slightly long, but worth watching 🙂
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Diuv3XZQXyc&w=620&h=360]
Peter Singer ~ The Why and How of Effective Altruism ~ YouTube Video
“I slept and I dreamed that life is all joy. I woke and I saw that life is all service. I served and I saw that service is joy.” ~ Kahlil Gibran
Different people make different choices – but as far as you are giving and it’s helping other people directly or indirectly, your choice is good! So which way of helping others have you chosen?
DO READ: It Only Takes One Person To Make A Difference
May everyday be the joy of giving day, and may God bless you for spreading goodness, happiness, and peace in the world. 🙂
Over to You –
How and when do you celebrate the joy of giving? Which act of giving or helping others gives you happiness and satisfaction? Share your views about giving in the comments below.
Photo Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos