FOCUS OF THE WEEK AT USY is on Generosity
This focus came to mind because the end of this week marks for me an event that is very dear to my heart: The Brave Heart Yoga event at AUB, (https://www.facebook.com/events/473964729339059/) where I will be teaching a class to raise funds to the benefit of children with congenital heart disease.
Since the inception of this project, the journey has been extremely interesting and rich and fulfilling in seeing that crazy ideas always come to life if you badly want them. Booyah! But the one thing that keeps resonating in my mind and touching my heart is how every single person involved in the making of this project is investing time, energy and tremendous effort to ensure its success, without asking anything in return.
Nothing is nobler than someone spontaneously giving.
It also got me thinking that any act of generosity should be intelligent, because most of the time, we will unknowingly give out of habit, guilt, or social pressure. We often give to obtain back recognition, good publicity, appreciation, praise. Sometimes by giving, we can actually hurt someone or judge them indirectly. Right? if you give an alcoholic a 6 pack of beer, or a gym prescription to someone overweight, these become judgments or pressures disguised as gifts, which take place within the giver’s value system more than within the person’s needs you are giving to. Giving can oftentimes be an act of superiority just to say: “Look at me, I am generous” or to create a debt “I gave you this, now you owe me that”
What I am trying to say is that our acts of generosity are for the most part conditional and not necessarily always guided by awareness.
An amazing yogic exercise to go through from now on, is to monitor your incentive and motivation when you give. Are you really giving a free gift? A gift free of guilt, debt or dependence.
If you are, then this is kindness at its best. If you are not quite there yet, just try and start placing less importance on what you are offering and much more importance on the person you are giving. This makes it a genuine act of generosity.
They say that real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out.