Dealing with a chronic illness like MS or Devics Disease (my wife's illness) can take everything out of you. I so admire Cami Walker's story.. I appreciated how she struggled.. how she forced herself out of bed to give a small gift each day for 29 days.. and I was amazed to hear her speak of not needing her cane after a few weeks.The first day of my personal 29-Day Giving Challenge was preceded by a sleepless night. I was awake all night feeling angry and sorry for myself during a difficult flare up of my Multiple Sclerosis. When insomnia hits, I often go through old journals and read them. I found a note that I'd made during a phone session with one of my spiritual teachers, Mbali Creazzo, two months before. The note said, "Give something away each day for 29 days." It was 3 a.m. and I decided in that moment to take the suggestion.
And so my 29-Day Giving Challenge began that morning as I gave my first gift -- a simple supportive phone call to another friend living with MS. I woke up the next day and the next day after that feeling excited about what I might give away. And I began to notice that the more I gave away, the more abundance I was experiencing for myself.
I think that I will order the book and hope with Cami.. and maybe even embrace her message of giving something small each day. After all Thanksgiving is next month.
This is a really neat idea. I've noticed in the past that when I give, I receive... abundantly.
ReplyDeleteWhy limited our giving to twenty nine days, or to one holiday season per year, we should give of ourselves everyday. There are thousands of seniors who live everyday with the decision to buy food or their prescriptions, children who wear the same torn t-shirt to school everyday for months, and women who everyday fear that today will be their last day because of an abusive partner. There are so many people that could use a little giving.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this story was a tactful reminder to all those out there that think only of themselves of these facts. Maybe it was a way to make someone feel guilty about spending 375K on an automobile (read your previous post also). To these people I will "give" a little advice, you can save your precious money and give a little of your time, in many cases it means more to a person than a dollar ever will.
Don't think the focus was limiting our giving to 29 days coach.. just a story to help us readjust our focus.. maybe after 29 days giving will become a regular part of life. Agree with you on folks who spend a lot of money on things.. of course.. percentage wise many of these folks are more generous than many of us.
ReplyDeleteI agree with coachscully about giving one's time. You probably can't afford to donate as much money as a non-profit would need to hire somebody to do what you would do while volunteering your time.
ReplyDeleteI've learned that in some parts of the country it is more difficult to get somebody to volunteer their time even temporarily than it is to get them to donate money, only.
I like this idea. A gift can be anything you want it to be....even a phone call, as the author mentioned. 29 days of do this would likely be enough to make giving a habit.
ReplyDeleteBTW, forgiveness is a gift too. A little more of that particular gift would go a long, long way. :)
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