Greetings my good friends.

We are gradually coming to the end of the year. I guess it will be right to say compliments of the season because we are already in the month of December. If you are familiar with the Christmas season you will agree with me, it’s the season of love and one of the greatest ways of celebrating the Christmas season is by sharing with the less privileged in the society. As Christians, the hallmark of Christ love was displayed when he died on the cross for the salvation of souls. The Holy Bible recorded that Jesus Christ gave up his life for the redemption of our sins. That singular act of dying on the cross is what I call selfless giving. It’s on this note we’ll be discussing the art of selfless giving.

In today’s’ article, we shall be discussing the mystery of giving, how giving can be a blessing to you; how giving can open doors of opportunity for you and the different kinds of giving that can create impact. In our today’s world, a lot of people underestimate the importance and power of giving, they forget that when you give cheerfully, it comes back to you. They don’t realize that we become successful by what we get and we become happy with what we give. What we give includes our time, wealth, and energy. All these deeds are all used to create impact for humanity. According to Maya Angelou “People may forget what you say, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel”. What matters most in giving is not how much you give, but the manner and attitude you give. Your giving should be able to put smiles on the faces of anyone you meet on the street. Never looked down on anyone except you are helping them get up.

You can tell more about a person by what he or she shares. Giving can be relative to time. Most people spend their time on what they value. They put their mouth where their money is. There’s real joy in giving. True givers have a feeling of fulfillment when they give. The way you give speaks a lot about you. Most people give to please the gallery. According to K.J Watts “Character is doing the right thing when no one is looking”.That is why Dalai Lama said Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions; and Mother Teresa beautiful caps it by saying “Spread love wherever you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier”

Giving is a gift, very few people posses this gift. Most givers are regarded as philanthropist. Great philanthropist like Tony Elumelu, Bill Gate, Mike Adenuga and Mother Teresa are passionate about empowering humanity. If you are not called to be a giver, it will be hard for you to give even if you have surplus to share. However, giving can be cultivated and nurtured especially when you meet a giver who has been blessed with the mystery of giving. Just like prayers is the fastest way to get prayers answered, in the same manner, giving is the fastest way to open doors of opportunity. In my little experience in life, I have since discovered that you’ll get whatever you need faster when you help other people to get what they need. There’s nobility in giving. To understand the mystery of giving, try spraying a perfume on a friend, you’ll discover that a part of the fragrance will be left on your part. That fragrance implies that you are also blessing yourself in double folds. A lot of people find it hard to share, but the truth is that great people are the people who share when it’s most uncomfortable for them. For me, when I look back to see the kind of favors I have received in recent times, I honestly feel they are because of the deeds I have sowed selflessly through giving and helping other people to achieve what they need. One of such favors was when I supported a young author in sharing his works and moderating his book launch, after the event, he was kind to introduce me to the President of his College and the rest they is history. Another interesting opportunity which opened doors for me was when I supported one of my mentors to organize an event, during the meet and greet session I met the Senior Vice President and Provost of Medgar Evers College. Fast forward to two years later after I published my book, I reached out to him and he was kind to support my work in addition to recommending my book to his College. I can go on and on, but as the sage will say a word is enough for the wise. My humble advice for you is, if you have the opportunity of helping others, please do, even when it is difficult to share.

Another component part of giving is the setbacks and challenges that comes with giving. We live in a world where some irrational beings can be ungrateful. These set of individuals makes life difficult for people with good intentions to stay aloof due to the sad experiences they have encountered when they assisted other people. The point here is that, you might have a heart of gold to share, but some ungrateful minds might want to use it as an opportunity to steal or deprive other people who are truly in need. This is what makes most people to desist from helping other people, but Mother Teresa has encouraged us never to be deterred from giving or assisting people. According to her:

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered, Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people will accuse of ulterior motives – Be kind anyway
The good you do today maybe forgotten, Be good anyway
If you find happiness, people may be jealous Be happy anyway
Give your best anytime and at the end you will discover it is between you and God, It was never between you and them anyway. The moral of this statement is that do good just because it is good to be good not because society or organizations wants you to do good.
One of the ways to know a person or to find out the interest of any person is to find out what he or she does with his/her time. Personally, I like to share because it makes me happy. You can tell who a person is by what he/she spends his resources on.
Giving is one of the most fundamental laws of success. Giving and receiving operate in the same dimension like the law of karma. The universe gives you what you give. It’s that simple. Practicing the Law of Giving and Receiving is simple: If you sow love, you will reap love, if you sow opportunity you will receive boundless opportunities, if you want wealth, help others prosper.

Giving and receiving are different aspects of the same flow of energy in the universe. In our willingness to give that which we seek, we keep the abundance of the universe circulating in our lives. Let me share some practical guidance to giving. According to Deepak Chopra’s book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, he outlined giving as of the laws of success. Let’s share some of this teachings as it relates to giving.

GIVE DAILY
Giving is not reserved for special days like birthday, valentine and anniversaries. It should be done without season as you go about your daily lives. Whether you are in the bus, on the street, market, social gathering, find an opportunity to give by sharing a smile, passing a cup of water to one in need, or even give someone a compliment. Trust me, it to goes a long way to put smiles on the faces of the person. These are The Little Things of Life which can make a huge difference in the life of someone in need. What is important in giving is the attitude you radiate when give. When giving, don’t give in a condescending manner, rather give with a sense of hope. Giving helps to radiate a feeling of gratitude. If you really want to understand what the value of giving can do for someone, give a beggar a penny or food to the homeless, no matter the size of what you give, you will be amazed how grateful the person will be. The true joy of life is not happy you are, but how happy others can be because of you. We live in a world filled with frustration and one of the ways we can diffuse this feeling is by sharing love and empathy to the world. The best gift you can give is to leave someone feeling a little lighter than they felt before your interaction. It should be noted that anything that is of value in life only multiplies when it is given. It is the intention behind your giving and receiving that is the most important thing.

RECEIVE GRATEFULLY
Every act of receiving is an act of giving. When you happily accept a gift, you give pleasure to the giver. Think about giving something to someone you love. Imagine the happiness and opening that unfolds as a result of your gift. Now imagine that your friend or loved one refused your offering. You would most likely feel disappointed, sad, and empty. When you receive a gift or favor from someone look at the intent as opposed to form that will enable you to appreciate the deed.

REPLENISH YOURSELF.
You may agree with me that givers never lack and you can never give what you don’t have. As givers, it’s highly imperative we apply wisdom when giving. Giving is relative to health. If you have a family or friend you are taking care of, wisdom entails that you also have to take care of yourself. In the same manner, when you give, be rational about it. The best way to express this thought is by following your conscience. Your conscience will never deceive you. Nobody feels a particular feeling more than you. Always remember, whenever you give cheerfully, you are opening doors of bountiful blessings.

BE PRESENT:
The best use of your time and resources is by making ourselves available for humanity. It’s very good to give attention to the cries of helpless people around us, this is because giving is the language the deaf can hear and feel while the blind can feel and see. As you journey towards life, always have at the back of your mind many people are carrying heavy burden in their heart, little acts of kindness will go a long way to make them feel accepted and loved. Life’s most precious gifts are the intangible ones, including attention, appreciation, and affection. When we pay attention to someone, we are fully present and listen deeply, without stopping to check what’s going on around our environment. When you give or share an opportunity, don’t see it as an obligation for someone to pay you back like they owe you a favor, if you have such mentality, you have lost the value and blessings that come with giving.

In conclusion, I will strongly advise you to give whenever and wherever you find an opportunity because you just never know what might happen the next second. While carrying out this noble act, always remember the words of Mark Twain “Kindness is the language the deaf can hear and the blind can see”

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He can be reached via henrous@gmail.com