Giving is an art, an essence of existence and a test of our character. It asks deep questions about our relationship to others, to ourselves and to time itself. To give well, appropriately and often is to establish a beautiful symmetry between the part of us that wishes to be generous and the part of the world that is surprised and happy to receive.
- David Whyte
from Readers’ Circle Essay, “Giving”
©2011 David Whyte
I just saw this quote on Facebook (thank you Tom Wojick) and it reminded me about this article: “The Paradox of Giving”
What do you truly want? And what would you give to find that?
Emotional intelligence is a resource we all have, but it’s hard to use this capability without a process, a roadmap. In the Six Seconds Model of Emotional Intelligence, there are three “pursuits” forming a process framework that enables people to be more effective by tapping the power and wisdom of feelings. The first two pursuits are reasonably straightforward, albeit enormously challenging to accomplish consistently. The third is a paradox that many find contradictory… yet it’s what makes the model transformational.
The more I think about this, the more I realize how powerful it is to shift to this way of being in the world. Not an easy step, especially in a world that is so focused on taking and having.
Joshua Freedman
Joshua is one of the world’s preeminent experts on developing emotional intelligence to improve performance. With warmth and authenticity, he translates leading-edge science into practical, applicable terms that improve the quality of workplace relationships to unlock enduring success. Joshua leads the world’s largest network of emotional intelligence practitioners and researchers.See 252 more posts by Joshua Freedman
I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT WE CAN NOT GIVE ANYTHING WHICH WE DONT POSSESS,CAN WE??
Hi Nagaraja – I’m not sure. Sometimes there are things we think we don’t possess. Then, when we decide to give, we find that we actually do possess them. For example love, hope, curiosity, a sense of purpose, meaning in life…
Thanks Josh for sharing this amazing quote, it’s provocative and a reminder that we can’t solve the many challenges we face from the same paradigm that we have created them as you say from a paradigm of ” taking and having”. And after all – “what do we truly want?”
An interesing start to the day.
When I give, I receive the honor and dignity of being accepted to give. To use a metaphor, just as it appears that the soil is giving in to the seed but very soon the place is transformed full of greenery and life with flowers and birds. ” In giving we experience the purpose to live”
That’s a beautiful metaphor Tim. It’s also a reminder of the connectedness you express in the first sentence. We’re not separate and apart, we’re part of the same story — and when we give, we’re simply weaving the chapters together.
The more you give the more you receive. When you give it is to express that I have plenty, more than I need. Plenty attracts plenty. This is the law of attraction. Giving need not be only of wealth but more importantly of time, of self, of making a difference for another.
The critical factor for me is trust. A deep trust in myself and a constant exercising of the following though others may not understand ‘Give, expecting nothing at all in return’. A line from a hymn I heard years ago ‘Launch out into the deep and let the shore line go’ Perfection:)
How timely I found the article on giving to be. Just the other day, I took my adult son, his wife and family out for a very nice dinner. I had just received an unexpected refund check and wanted to share part of it.
They seemed so concerned that I, as a widow, was overspending on them. I explained to them how very happy it made me to share an extra, unplanned amount of money I had received. They did appear to understand and relate after I offered my rationale’. Thank you for giving us the perspective on GIVING!!!