To Give More Than We Take

Over the weekend, I was talking with my daughter about getting ready for the coming school year. One of the projects she wanted to completed was overhauling her room which included getting rid of all the clothes that no longer fit or never actually wore.

As she worked and the piles got bigger, I noticed she had went and got some shopping bags and brought them back. That got me motivated to cleanup out her sisters drawers and closets, because I understood my daughters plan.

As we worked though the project, neatly folding the clothes and placing them in bags, I thought about the expression, "Give more than we take." It sounds simple, but living in a culture that teaches and tells you to extract everything that you can from life, other people, the environment and not to worry about the consequences, it can be a little tough. It's almost a supernatural force. The Dalai Lama once said that he was driving though New York City. As they moved down the street he was looking in all the windows at all the "pretty" objects. He said that once he got to his destination that he felt very relieved because just that little exposure produced "powerful cravings and desires to have those things."

Perhaps when we give, it enables use to sever that connection just a little. In giving more than we take, we are also reminded to be generous to others, as we are all interconnected. Kindness is a great gift, especially when it comes from a young child who is pointing the Way to doing what is right.

Namaste'

Jaye Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO