Practices From the Inside Out: Sharing What We Have

Sharing What We Have

Generosity is sharing what we have.

We might assume generosity is when people make million dollar donations or give away brand new cars. Our idea of being generous is doing something extravagant for our friends or family. It may be people giving expensive presents on special occasions or picking up the tab for elaborate trips.

Some of us see being generous as a way to make ourselves look better than other people. We might like to think we can compensate for ignoring someone by demonstrating conspicuous generosity.

I experience generosity as a spiritual practice. It is not about wanting to make ourselves look good or hoping other people will notice. Like hospitality, generosity is how we behave when we are grateful for what we receive.

Being wealthy is not a requirement for sharing what we have. We do not need to have a lot of money to be generous.

Our generosity is not about how extravagant we are or how much we sacrifice. The first step in practicing generosity is recognizing what we have we are willing to share. We become generous when we appreciate and are grateful for what we have received.

I know people who have a regular practice of gratefulness. Each day they take time to acknowledge something for which they are thankful. Our practice of generosity can be the next step we take in applying our gratitude in the world around us.

We may be accustomed to thinking about being generous with the things we have, especially our money. While there is nothing wrong with financial generosity, we do not need to limit being generous to that.

As we put generosity into practice each day we will begin to find new ways we can be generous.

Sharing Our Time

For many of us time is a more precious resource than anything else. There are so many things we would like to do, so many ways we could be spending our time each day. Every one of us receives the same amount of time each day. Sharing our time is an essential aspect of our generosity.

Some of us like to believe we use our time wisely. It is important to us to invest our precious hours in ways which will help us get where we would like to go. We are organized and intentional, try to avoid getting interrupted, and do not want to waste any time.

Others of us are more relaxed. We get a little distracted with social media or other diversions. Our time is precious to us but we do not hold it so tightly. We do not see ourselves as mastering our time but allowing it to master us.

No matter how we relate to our time, sharing it with other people is part of our practice of generosity.

People are thirsty for someone who pays attention. Our lives are filled with people who do not see us, and who we do not see. Sharing our time, even a few moments of it, with someone else is an act of significant generosity.

As we practice being generous we recognize the people who have shared their time with us. We remember the people who encouraged us when we most needed it, or who simply spent time listening.

Sharing our time can make a difference in the lives of people around us, and in our lives.

Sharing What We Have Experienced

Most of the people who talk to me are not interested in what I have studied in school. They rarely ask me questions about what I learned about political science or law or public administration.

People who come to me want to know about what I have experienced. They are far more interested in my story than in getting a lecture about some aspect of the law.

The people around us are not looking for theoretical answers. They are much less interested in a formal explanation than in hearing what has worked for me. People want to know what my experience has taught me, not what I learned from someone else in a lecture hall.

I know people who are not particularly interested in sharing their experiences. They may not be confident about what they have discovered in their explorations. Some of them wish it had taken them fewer attempts to gain their insights.

The more people are generous in sharing their stories and experiences with me the more I appreciate them. As I hear what has happened in their lives I can see my own experiences more clearly.

One of the most encouraging aspects of spiritual life for me is sharing our stories with each other. Each of us has our own perspective on our experiences and only by sharing can we gain their benefits.

Sharing What We Have Been Given

We begin to recognize even our time and our experiences are gifts of spiritual life for us. As we practice sharing them generously we recognize there is nothing we have which has not been given to us.

It is easy for us to feel comfortable in what our culture tells us about what we have. We think we have earned what we have and we need to protect and defend it from people who want to take it away. Some of us even believe we need to earn whatever spiritual life we can get.

All of life is a gift to us. We are filled with gratitude which we express by being generous.

As we practice generosity we learn to see it in new ways. We become generous with our time, our experiences, and whatever we have been given.

What we have received is not for us to hold onto tightly, defending and hoarding it. We are grateful we have received what we have and look for new ways we can share it.

How will we practice sharing what we have today?

When will we practice sharing our time this week?

[Image by Cubosh]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual life mentor and leadership coach in Southern California. He is a recovering attorney and university professor, and a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California. Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com, and his email address is StrategicMonk@gmail.com.