on giving.....

Give with a truly glad heart for the sole purpose of the good it will do, and whatever you give shall return to you, multiplied, as if on wings, covered in sparkles. 

"I have an irrepressible desire to live till I can be assured that the world is a little better for my having lived in it."
– Abraham Lincoln

"Do small things with great love!" - Mother Teresa

Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.  

Martin Luther King, Jr.

"All you have shall some day be given;
Therefore give now, that the season of giving
 may be yours and not your inheritors."

Kahlil Gibran


A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.

"I've been thinking," he said, "I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone." 

"The Wise Woman's Stone"
 Author Unknown

Now, I could go on and on, but I think you have the point here. Give until it hurts. Give without a record of the deed. Give because you can. Don't wait for someone else to do it, look in the mirror! You ARE that "Someone Else!" If you put it off because of one reason or other, the day will come when you realize it is too late! Give with a cheerful heart! Love with forgiveness and keep no account of the injury. Remember the parable of the Good Samaritan. Give because it is what we do. It can be to give up your spot in line to someone else, a donation because it is needed, a hug to a hurting friend, an ear to listen to a stranger's cry. No matter what it is, give. Then...give some more! 
 
Smile at each other,
smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other -- it doesn't matter who it is -- and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other.” --Mother Teresa