Friday, December 04, 2009

charity


Charity is a way of being.
I've heard this, read this.
I try to live this way of being.......
Sometimes I mess up.
Sometimes you mess up.
We try.


It is all about living and giving. 
Living by giving. 
Loving and forgiving. 
Sharing what you can and a little bit more. 
Being kind, even when its not acknowledged. 
Even when it may not be accepted the way you expect it to be.
Giving without strings attached. 
Freely.


My way of being is the same as your way of being if we both come from kindness.
What I can give may be different than what you can. 
Our gifts aren't the same.  It's what makes us unique.
What would happen if we all gave the same gifts???
We'd end up with an overabundance of one thing
And a big void of what is needed.


Charity
What if we mess up?
What if we give the wrong gift?  
The wrong act of kindness?
What if the gift we give is misinterpreted
misconstrued
mishandled........

tossed in the dumpster right before our eyes??
How do we stop ourselves from reacting by sticking our tongue out at the ugly response?
DAMN YOUR INCONSIDERATION!  
How do we refrain from turning into a defensive kindness hoarder 
when our way of being is charity, but the way its seen isn't?


Forgiveness
No strings attached, remember?
It's hard to remember that.
Understanding without judgement
Understanding without trying to interpret motives.

 I'm OK, You're OK...... despite the type of gifts we can offer.

Despite our way of being.


Charity isn't a hand out void of human touch
It's a human HEART touch......

It's a hand UP.

It's not just a couple of coins tossed into a hat without even looking

It's not just a cheque written out of guilt for tax purposes
It's not a bag of second hand clothes left on the front door of Goodwill
Without even envisioning the human being in need. 
Is it?
We do what we do because of who we are....
How we choose to be....... 


If charity is our way of being, our way of applying the purity of God's love, than is this not the way to loving thy neighbour? 
Living by giving
Loving and forgiving
Sharing what you can and then some....
With the other person lovingingly respected,

no matter what the outcome.


I am what I am........ and so are you.........
Beautifully imperfect trying to live a life of charity
and messing up every once in a while.
So be it. 
I try again.......

I'll continue to follow the star for direction.....
It sure helped those Wisemen.


I wonder what Jesus did with that pile of myrrh??



7 comments:

CorvusCorax12 said...

I'm new to your Blog but i'm glad i found it. Your wise words have helped me to get some perspective.
Thank You ♥

awareness said...

Welcome Twain12... Looks like there's a chance our paths may cross in person. WE both live in God's country....Beautiful New Brunswick. Please drop by again and I will check out your blog too.

Anonymous said...

Dana

Lots to reflect upon. You amaze me always

Mavis

Shelia said...

Hey there. Thanks for linking to my blog. That's how I found you. You have some lovely content here. I will enjoy reading further. I have returned the link. Blessings to you in this remarkable season.

Savannah said...

.......Understanding without judgement
Understanding without trying to interpret motives.
.......

That is so very hard to do isn't it? I think we feel the need to always understand why why why because we have become so untrusting. What a shame we can't all have a little more faith in each other eh?

Anonymous said...

pensive thoughts worth pondering and likely will come back to us many time ... perhaps when we least expect it.

Love the last line :)
JTChoices

awareness said...

Mavis....you amaze me. You have an abundance of the type of charity I am describing here. You walk the talk daily, and your walks often take you to the tents along the river. For that, this community is forever grateful of what you do, and how you do it. Walk on friend!!! Teach us all!!

Sheila....Welcome. :) I thoroughly enjoy reading your posts and often leave your blog with many thoughts to chew on throughout my day. Take care.

Gypsy....it's true. Also, sometimes we just have to accept the other person without questioning. We have a tendancy to take things so personally as well as to look through a very narrow lens. I was speaking to a friend of mine today about this, and suggested that quite often we look at the way someone is or the way someone perceives something is interpreted through our own filters and consequently, we only see what we want to see......or not see. Does that make sense?

Joyce...its funny how and when this stuff nips at our thinking. :) Boy, we have to talk soon. The amount of times Glasser has been used in my counselling sessions and discussions with the instructors this fall is amazing. There may be a great opportunity during March break to do some work with them. New Choice theory tools for the tool box are needed!!! You're the gal for that!!