The Gift of Giving, and Why Your Heart Already Knows

This morning I was reminded what a gift it is to help other people.

It's a great way to remind yourself that you have something to offer, and that you offer it with kindness and no expectation of getting anything in return.

So many people live with the belief that if someone offers you help, there's always an expectation attached.

So it's easier to just say no, I'll do it myself.

But on the flip side, how often do you do something just to be kind, with no expectation of acknowledgment or anything in return?

It feels so good to do it.

Wayne Dyer taught me decades ago that if you're feeling down, go volunteer a few hours at a hospital, a senior center, or an animal shelter. Your heart will immediately open.

Then I came across an affirmation from Louise Hay:

The more I help others, the more I prosper and grow. In my world, everybody wins.

That's such a contradiction to the way many of us live, where it's all about more, more, more.

A better job means more money, which means you have to dress better, drive a better car, live in a bigger house, take better vacations, and then maybe a vacation home, or two.

It never ends. And it's all to keep up with expectations. But whose?

On the flip side is where peace lives.

Giving yourself the gift of time.

The gift of calm and quiet.

The gift of going inside yourself and listening to your own voice.

I used to always have noise in my house. I grew up that way.

A TV or radio always on, even if no one was paying attention to it.

There was never silence.

Now, my environment is quiet for the majority of my day.

I like to be able to hear myself think.

I don't remember exactly when it shifted, but something changed, and I began to appreciate just listening to birds outside or the breeze moving through the palm fronds.

Meditation is nothing more than sitting in silence with your eyes closed.

In that peaceful, blissful silence, the Universe, your higher self, begins to speak to you.

You get insight, ideas, and most of all, your heart opens.

And when your heart opens in the silence, you want to keep that feeling going.

Giving to others is a beautiful way to do it.

The more you go inside and listen, the more you begin to realize that all the things you've been focused on accumulating just aren't that important.

The habit of giving things away helps you live from a place of detachment.

Your possessions no longer possess you.

Wayne Dyer once suggested that when you come out of meditation with that blissful feeling, give away something you don't regularly use, at least once a day.

Giving to others not only extends that feeling of bliss, it takes you out of your own pain, your own stress, your own sadness, and allows you to feel connected to something bigger than yourself.

I go through my house every couple of months and look for things I can give away.

Clothes, things from my kitchen, furniture, plants, anything.

There is always someone who needs what you no longer use. That's a great place to start.

And each time you do it, your heart will open.

Today's Gentle Practice

At some point today, find something you no longer need.

It doesn't have to be significant.

A book you've already absorbed.

Something in a drawer you keep moving around.

A piece of clothing that belongs to someone else now.

Hold it for a moment.

Notice if there's any resistance.

Then let it go, and notice what happens in your chest when you do.

That small release is the practice.

Not the thing itself.

The opening.

If this landed for you, I'd love to know. Is there something you've been holding onto, either a possession or something else, that you already know is ready to go?

Reply and tell me. Sometimes just saying it out loud is the first step.

With you,

Lynn