Generosity

Our Greatest Giving is of Our Time and Kindness 

Generosity is more than just gift giving or donating money. 

As Jim Rohn said, "One of the greatest gifts you can give to anyone is the gift of attention." Just being there for someone and listening to them without criticism or judgment is definitely an act of generosity.

As writer Joyce Hifler penned, "Giving is so often thought of in terms of the gifts we give, but our greatest giving is of our time, and kindness, and even comfort for those who need it. We look on these little things as unimportant ── until we need them." 

Project You Life Journey Key Elements 

If you can take this "being there" one step further, that is even better. 

"The finest gift you can give anyone is encouragement," noted American poet Sidney Madwed. "Yet almost no one," he added, "gets the encouragement they need to grow to their full potential. If everyone received the encouragement they need to grow, the genius in most everyone would blossom and the world would produce abundance beyond the wildest dreams."  

Benjamin Disraeli, a former British Prime Minister, had a similar view, "The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him/her his/her own."

Here's some good advice from the poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, "You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late." 

This article is excerpted from the book Project You: Living A Determined Life, available at Amazon in paperback ($7.90) and Kindle ($6.88) formats.