Generosity is such a lovely quality to cultivate.
We are not just giving - we are also learning to let go of attachment to what we have, as well as develop goodwill towards the person we are offering our generosity.
In the many ways that we can share with others, from material things to immaterial resources like kind words, non-judgement, patience, time, and presence, we must consider whether our act of giving comes from a place of mindfulness and wholesomeness.
We want to ask ourselves:
What is my intention of giving?
What will be the impact of my generosity?
When we are truly generous, our giving is unconditional. There is no expectation of an exchange or getting something back in return - not even gratitude, perhaps. We give because we genuinely want the recipient to be well and live well - no strings attached.
In this Take A Pause session recorded on 11 August 2024, I guide the TAP community in contemplating the cultivation of generosity. We bring to mind a person who has shown us generosity in one way of another, and practice offering kind thoughts to this person. We then turn inwards to contemplate how we have (or have not) been generous with ourselves.
At the end of the session, we listened to a poem by C Cavierre about giving.
Practice begins: 08:20
Reading begins: 27:15
Meditation duration: 19 minutes
— C Cavierre
The man by the flowers
is giving with his tender care
The woman by the shelves
is giving with her dusty hands,
Him, by the trash bin,
gives with his inconspicuous hard work
Her, by the street, gives with the brightest smiles
Them, by the office, gives with their protective minds,
And father gives with his visionary love.
Mother gives with her fine-honed instinct
Sister gives with her passionate dreams,
Brother gives with his inspiring character
Nephew gives with his contagious laughter.
You and I, by our flowers, by our shelves, by our trash bin, by our street, by our office, with our care, with our hands, with our work, with our smile, with our minds, or our vision, or our instinct, or our love, or our dreams, or our character, or our laughter,
We give.
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