Today’s post brought to you by the letter “G”, Giving

Today’s Alphabet Post, I am going to talk about “G”iving. Giving is something foremost that should be selfless, that should mean something, that should hold some belief in your heart that it is being done for the right reasons. Giving doesn’t need to be monetary, or a gift, it could be as simple as giving someone time (which is considered a gift by many), or a smile which might make someones day.

Giving sometimes requires realizing that you might have something more than someone else, again, it doesn’t always have to come down to money, by realizing this, you might help someone give them their dignity back by clothing them if they have nothing to wear, or trying to help someone find their way if they are lost, and not ignoring them, to telling a child its the best lemonade you have ever had when its sour and bitter. Giving can be of your time, donating your skills and time to a church or organization that helps people, it doesn’t have to be allot, even an hour is more than they had before you offered.

And then there is those tangible items, when is the last time you wore something in your closet, or a pair of shoes that have been in there for 5 years, are there jeans or clothes that might not fit you anymore that are just taking space, or a can of pork & beans, or ravioli that might benefit someone else. Again, it doesn’t take filling up a box or a bag full of stuff to do this, maybe just a few small things here or there to help, will always do that, help. By all means though, if you have allot of things you know you will not wear, or use, or eat, share them with others that might benefit from it.

In your mind you might think, oh I can sell my old clothes on eBay, and don’t get me wrong, that is okay, you spent money to buy them, why not get something back, and I have done that myself, but maybe for every 3 items you sell on eBay or a Garage Sale, maybe think of donating 1 of them to a place that might need them, like the Salvation Army, Goodwill, a Women’s Shelter, if you have older clean toys or books, see if your local Children’s E.R. might want them to giveaway or use in the emergency room.

Lastly, there is the monetary gift, money. Be careful, there are some scams out there, but the basic ones you can’t go wrong, like the March of Dimes (which I am a big supporter of), Red Cross, your local animal shelter, veteran’s groups, woman’s shelters, the list goes on. Again giving is voluntary, and should only be done if its something you truly want to do. I try to give when I can, and I still feel that if I was hungry and had a family who hadn’t eaten in the same time I have, I would at least give them half, if not the whole thing. One thing I realized over the years, is that you can’t take anything with you, and while you can give what you have to family or friends, there are people who have neither of those.

So what do you do to give? Do you try to inspire others? Share your thoughts below, and as always thanks for reading. Tom.