To Give
The core meaning of the word “give” is to present or deliver something of yours to someone else to keep.
The USA Thanksgiving Day is coming up, reminding people to give thanks, and a Philanthropist who I follow on Twitter, posted a tweet asking, why give?
The responses that followed this tweet were amazing and heartfelt. With all the tragedy you hear on the news, with all the sickness and death that affects many families, and the heavy financial struggles that burden people, hearing these kind and selfless responses was uplifting.
It reminded me of a day in our community each year, since 2008, which has been dedicated as ‘Random Act of Kindness Day’. It’s a vision of the KWCF, to help build a better community and to join hearts and hands to celebrate the community we live in.
Since its starting, it has become a huge success and has spread to other communities.
How it works is, in the weeks leading to the Random Act of Kindness Day, citizens are encouraged to give out Random Act of Kindness cards. The card says, “You have been touched by a Random Act of Kindness.” On that day, after doing an act of kindness, you give the person your card and they in turn perform an act of kindness and further pass along the card. Of course, you don’t need a card, and in case you are stumped as to what acts of kindness you can do, the website lists 101 Random Acts of Kindness for you to choose from – http://www.kwcf.ca/buildingle/randomacto
What most people derived from their kind deed was how good it made them feel by doing something for someone selflessly, without expectations, and without payment. Can you image the impact it would have on the world if each person did even one Random Act of Kindness every day.
Here are but a few of the many answers that flooded in for reasons of, ‘why give’:
“The greatest gift you can give someone is your time.”
“Giving is a natural human instinct.”
“I give because I want to do my part.”
“I give because God gave to me.”
“I give because so many have less than I have.”
“Because the world needs more love and generosity.”
“I give for no other reason than to help my fellow man.”
“To improve and enhance the lives of others.”
“Because it’s the right thing to do.”
“I give because the universe gives in abundance to me.”
“To make the world a better place.”
“I give because I’m passionate about seeing people thrive.”
“It’s about nourishing your soul by helping others.”
I think Winston Churchill said it right, “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”
My blog was inspired by Michael Chatman, a Philanthropist and a man I admire – http://www.michaelchatman.com/