Significance

          It’s easy for me to believe that nothing I do is of importance.  If I allow myself to start measuring each action I take against my grandiose dreams and the reported heroics of others, I can easily judge my actions to be inconsequential.  Such a judgment is always made in error!  Life’s meaning is found in the seemingly insignificant encounters which come my way everyday.  Every time someone enters my mind, I have the opportunity to consider how I might be of service to them.  Performing an act of kindness, generosity, or hospitality is easier than ever today, with the many technologies which facilitate communication.  I can e-mail a brief line of encouragement to a friend or leave a text message for a family who will return from a long day’s vigil at the hospital bedside of a loved one, in addition to writing a card or talking with someone on the phone.  Each time I step aside from the many demands of my life and share God’s love in a tangible way, I make the world a better place, and that is always significant!

 

I will use the tools at my disposal to share the love of God with others.  Whenever I make room for others in my life, I help restore the bonds of spiritual unity which bind us together and unite us with God!

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Simplify

          One of the blessings that come with economic challenges is the way such times force us to step back and evaluate how we might simplify our obligations, our schedules, and our relationships.  We start by looking for ways to save a few dollars making lunches and eating meals at home, then we find ways to get by with access to fewer channels on TV or fewer minutes with our mobile phone service.  We consider getting by with a smaller car or taking public transportation.  When we first start looking for ways to save money, we usually do so out of anxiety for the future, and the process usually doesn’t feel at all pleasant.

          If we are fortunate enough to be amongst those who have steady employment and manage to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table, we begin to realize that something good is coming from our efforts to simplify.  Meals at home mean more time spent with people we love.  Fewer channels on TV means more time spent reading or conversing with others.  We begin to realize that some of our luxuries have drawn us away from the most meaningful parts of life–relationship with others.

          Hard times have a way of renewing our awareness of how good it feels to be generous.  Those of us who are fortunate enough to come through these tough economic times with our lives intact find that reducing our spending has freed us to care for others in their time of need.  We remember, or in some cases we discover how good it feels to give others a hand up in challenging times.  We contribute to a stronger sense of community that benefits all.

If I am fortunate enough to have a roof over my head and food in the pantry, I will count my blessings even as I consider how I can reduce spending and simplify my life to assure than I can get through the challenges of an economic downturn.  I will reinforce my commitment to be a “good news” person as I reconnect with those I love and extend myself to those in need.

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Give What You Love

          Sustainable generosity is the result of sharing with others what we most enjoy.  When someone hones her skills as a baker, the joy in crafting delicious pies or buttery croissants comes from sharing the delicious creations with others.  You won’t find many bakers living alone and hoarding delicious baked goods of their own creation.

          When a couple spends days making jam from fresh fruit they grew themselves, they surely get some satisfaction from pulling a jar off a shelf months later and spreading its contents on some homemade bread.  If you were to ask them, though, they probably wouldn’t go through the trouble if they were going to eat all the jam themselves.  They spend days scalding, peeling, and chopping fruit, then carefully measuring and cooking all the ingredients for jam because they love to give their jam to appreciative family members and friends.

          Furthermore, people don’t spend time developing skills to accomplish something they hold worthless.  We learn to create products and perform services we value.  In other words, when we aren’t just trying to earn a living, we do what we love.  Add to that fact being generous gives us a sense of purpose and enhances our sense of self-worth.  Bring these two realities together and we have sustainable generosity–sharing again and again the skills, talents, and innate gifts we value most.

I will apply three simple keys for happiness:

1) Develop skill at creative enterprises I love.

2)  Determine to live generously.

3)  Give what I love.

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