Gift Rapt

Practicing generosity not only makes you feel good but connects you with the essence of who you really are.

By Sally Kempton

Give Yourself Away

Generosity is a whole-being practice, and we experience it most deeply when we practice it on several levels simultaneously. On a physical level, we can practice giving away money or time, or volunteering our labor. Mentally, we "do" generosity by cultivating an attitude of offering and a willingness to examine our motives for giving. On an emotional level, we can learn to notice how the impulse to give feels, and how to use imagery and generous thoughts to summon our generous feelings. Energetically, we can notice the tightness that sometimes forms in the heart around giving, and work with breath to help release those contractions.

And through it all, we can be open at the level of spirit to realize our essential interconnectedness. Then, our acts of generosity begin to seem like a natural overflow of our own life force, rather than something special or contrived.

Come Bearing Gifts

For a week, try giving something away every day. You might offer a piece of fruit to a friend, some money to a favorite cause, or $5 to a street person. Buy a flower or a latte for someone at work. Give a Christmas present to someone who doesn't expect it—and give it anonymously. Call your mother! Try to give just a little past your edge. This does not mean that you go without or break your budget. However, if in offering you can go just a little bit beyond your comfort zone, carefully monitoring your reactions, you'll find that the act of giving does, little by little, help dissolve the instinct to hold fast to possessions and expands your ability to open your heart.

Be of Service

Consider volunteering your service in your community, working an hour or two at a shelter or in an after-school program. Or give time to a friend who needs company. Help someone move, or volunteer to do errands for a busy mom. Feed a feral cat.

As you do all this, be aware of potential pitfalls. Try to notice your expectations around giving. Do you expect thanks? Do you expect your gifts to be used in particular ways? How unconditional is your giving? Can you offer in a spirit of equality, without subtly feeling better than the person who receives the gift?

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