Giving For No Reason - Thai Commercial Shows How It's Done

A lovely Thai insurance company commercial, no less, touts the benefits of giving without expectations of return.  Giving because it feels good, not because we think we will benefit from that giving.  Inevitably we do, though. By giving and selflessly helping others, we actually enrich our own lives.

It's Better To Give Than Receive- Homeless Man Gives $250.00 To Charity

From a spiritual perspective it's far better to give than to receive. Most religious and spiritual faiths emphasize the importance of giving to others, either through good deeds or monetary aid.  Acts 20:35 of the King James Version of the Bible says:

I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

It's even more remarkable when those who have nothing manage to find small ways of giving to others what little they have.  That's what a homeless 77-year-old veteran did. Ed Denst saved up 250 one dollar bills and then donated the lot to the Society of Saint Vincent De Paul Council in Los Angeles. $250.00 might not seem much to some, especially those cynics who believe that since he "didn't lift a finger to get that $250", " giving it away means absolutely nothing," but it does.

KCAL9's Rachel Kim asked Denst, "You could buy meals, you could buy yourself clothes, you could do a lot with that money. Why give it away?"

"Well, because I thought about giving back. (It) makes me feel very good," he said.

Denst, an ex-Marine, said he became homeless after his wife died 23 years ago. He admitted he sold his house and spent all his money.

Denst said he'll continue to give, not just take. He doesn't consider himself a religious man, but he's learning the Lord's prayer.

"Give us this day our daily bread...that is very meaningful to me. I think that is how I have every day," he said.

"What I'm learning is that people are charitable and that should make me thankful."

Kudos to Denst.

Source: CBS

Giving From A Pure Place- Tyler Perry

I was perusing my Facebook news feed and noticed a friend had liked a post on Tyler Perry's fan page, and just had to share.

Prolific entertainer, actor, director, producer Tyler Perry of "Madea" fame, is also a man of faith.  Take note of the last paragraph- he's absolutely spot on. Call it what you will- karma or reaping what you sow- however you look at it, giving (like loving) unconditionally, and from a pure heart, will reap many benefits, if nothing else creating peace and joy within your heart. Everything else is icing on the cake.

IT MAY TAKE A WHILE

It's funny how a song, a taste, a scent, or something as simple as a change in weather can trigger a memory. Certain times of year make me think about when I was homeless. Especially the winter. I started thinking about this one lady in particular who helped me out during that time. She was a good soul who saw me in need and gave me money and food. She didn't have much but what she had she shared out of the kindness of her heart. I told her that when I got successful I would pay her back. She smiled and said, "You don't have to pay me anything. I just felt led to help you."

I couldn't stop thinking about her the other day so I did some research and found her. Imagine her shock when I called her. She didn't even think that I remembered her. It's funny how something that was a small gesture to her was a huge blessing to me. As we went on talking, she reluctantly told me that she had just lost her job and was facing foreclosure. Of course, I did some things to help her out.

Why am I telling you this? I'm glad you asked. She gave to me out of the kindness of her heart. She gave to me from a pure place and expected nothing in return. The thing that brought tears to my eyes and blessed me so about this situation was this: this woman planted a seed in my life almost twenty years ago. But what she didn't know at the time was that the seed she planted would one day come back and bless her life just when she needed it most.

So what am I saying? I'm saying that if you are a giver of whatever you have... time, money, love, help, whatever it is... if you plant it in pureness it has got to come back to you. It may take a while but you will reap a harvest from that seed. Don't be weary in well-doing. It will come back to you. I know sometimes it may seem that all the good you do goes unnoticed by people, but if they don't notice, it doesn't matter. If they don't acknowledge your kindness, it does not matter. You know why? Because I promise you God sees it all and He is the only one that matters. And He is bound by His word, and that word says you will reap what you sow. So sow on, sow good seeds. They will grow and come back to you when you least expect it.

God bless you today.

Give A Little Love, Get A Little Love- Viral Pay It Forward Video

This has apparently been around for several years, but seems to only have gotten traction recently, especially on Facebook. Another lovely pay-it-forward-type ad that seems to have gone viral. It's a lovely reminder that it doesn't take much to be kind or loving. And we  reap what we sow when it comes to love.

The credits at the end include the following in both English and Czech:

"If you give a little love, you can get a little love of your own."

and a biblical reference to Matthew 22:39 "Love your neighbour as yourself"

and Křižovatka which appears to be a Christian organization based in the Czech Republic. But no-one quite knows who created it.

Music is by Noah and The Whales "Give A Little Love"

Priorities- Happy Holidays 2012

While some kids are thinking about what Santa will bring them on Christmas eve, others realize that there are priorities much greater than receiving the latest X-Box under their tree.

Chase Branscum from Owasso, Oklahoma, was turning eight, and instead of turning his party into an opportunity to make out like a bandit, the young boy decided to turn his celebration into a Toy's For Tots drive.  Around 100 people showed up with around 500 presents, all of which will be donated to the community through the Marine's Toys For Tots programme.

Then there's Bethany Arnold who told Santa that the only thing she wanted for Christmas was her dad home from Iraq, a contractor working on that country's electrical infrastructure. She had only seen her dad for 2 weeks in 2 years. The following video is from last year, but try watching it without grabbing for that box of Kleenex.





Both these kids are wiser than many adults, they know what's important in life, and it's not material things.

During this holiday season what's important is family and giving.

Happy Holidays to you all.

Generosity: NY Police Officer Who Gave Homeless Man Boots Goes Viral

'Tis the season of sharing and giving, although that sentiment should be something we think of year round. So, in that spirit of giving, here's a story to warm the cockles of your heart, and it's the epitome of what sharing, without expectations, is all about.

Jennifer Foster, an Arizona woman, was walking with her husband in Times Square- the heart of New York City- on a cold November night when she encountered a police officer engaged in a random act of kindness.  She snapped a photo with her cell phone of the officer with the homeless man he was helping, and this is how she describes it:

Right when I was about to approach, one of [the NYPD's] officers came up behind him. The officer said, ‘I have these size 12 boots for you, they are all-weather. Let’s put them on and take care of you.’ The officer squatted down on the ground and proceeded to put socks and the new boots on this man. The officer expected NOTHING in return and did not know I was watching. I have been in law enforcement for 17 years. I was never so impressed in my life. I did not get the officer’s name. It is important, I think, for all of us to remember the real reason we are in this line of work. The reminder this officer gave to our profession in his presentation of human kindness has not been lost on myself or any of the Arizona law enforcement officials with whom this story has been shared.

Foster emailed the NYPD about what she witnessed, they asked her for a copy of the photo, which they posted on their FaceBook page, and from there it went viral. They eventually discovered the identity of the officer, who thought nothing of what he did.

[Larry DePrimo] readily recalled the encounter. “It was freezing out and you could see the blisters on the man’s feet [...] I had two pairs of socks and I was still cold.” They started talking; he found out the man’s shoe size: 12. As the man walked slowly down Seventh Avenue on his heels, Officer DePrimo went into a Skechers shoe store at about 9:30 p.m. “We were just kind of shocked,” said [store manager] Jose Cano [...] “Most of us are New Yorkers and we just kind of pass by that kind of thing. Especially in this neighborhood.”

Mr. Cano volunteered to give the officer his employee discount to bring down the regular $100 price of the all-weather boots to a little more than $75. The officer has kept the receipt in his vest since then, he said, “to remind me that sometimes people have it worse.”

Officer Larry DePrimo, at the young age of 25 already knows the true meaning of compassion, empathy and generosity. He has been a police officer since 2010, and deserves kudos for his inspiration to a world sorely lacking in compassion and generosity.  The NYPD post has, to date, 458,000 'Likes',  well over 160,000 'Shares', and over 34,000 comments.  Many people have mentioned they wished all police officers were like DePrimo, but that's not what they should be focusing on.  Any one of us can do what DePrimo did.  And it doesn't take much money. If you have little  to spare, donate your time. Or offer someone a cup of coffee like DePrimo did with the homeless man, though he says:

 “as soon as the boots were on him, he went on his way, and I just went back to my post.”

It really doesn't take much to be kind, after all, we are our brothers keepers.

Sources: New York Times, PetaPixel

Free, Easy and Fun Ways To Give To Charity

In these challenging economic times, it's not always possible to donate money to charity, as much as we'd like to.  And we don't always know if that money is going to end up in the hands that most need it, or merely line the pockets of those who run the charitable organizations. 
We do know that giving makes us feel better:

A team from the University of British Columbia said spending as little as $5 (£2.52) on others helped.

Staff who got bonuses and spent some of the extra money on others were happier than those who spent their bonuses on themselves, the research found.

A UK psychologist said such charitable giving improved how people saw themselves - and how others saw them.

And $5.00 isn't much for an improved sense of well-being.

If you do have the money to freely give but you want to make sure the charity is worthy of your hard-earned cash, check out Charity Navigator or Charity Watch.  Both websites have rating guides to help you determine which organization you feel most comfortable supporting.

But there are other ways of 'giving' which cost nothing more than your time.

1. Volunteering: There are a zillion different organizations looking for volunteers, all you have to do is narrow down who and how you want to help, whether it's children, military vets, animals, senior citizens, or the homeless.  Check out organizations like United Way, the Humane Society, the Salvation Army, the list is endless.

2. Donate Goods:  If you have old clothes, furniture, knickknacks, kitchen items or anything that you no longer want or need, drop those off at places like Goodwill, the Salvation Army or a slew of other charities.

One of the easiest ways of donating is just a click away:

1. Freerice.com- is a fun way of donating grains of rice and helping to add to  your vocabulary at the same time.

2. Thehungersite.com- also donates food to the needy with just a click.

3. Thebreastcancersite.com- by clicking you can provide a free mammogram to women who can't afford one. You can do this once a day.

4. Care2.com- has a variety of different causes (from violence against women to saving seals) you can click to help.  You can also do this once a day.

And here's a portal website that lists a bunch of different organizations that allow you to click to donate.

Another way is to use those sites that allow you to shop for what you need and at the same time donate for nothing.

1.  shopforcharitynow.com

2.  igive.com

3. goodsearch.com

4. goodshop.com

The easiest and most hassle-free way to give to others is the 'click to give' sites, but give in any way you can. There is always someone needier than we are.

So go on, make yourself and someone in need happy.

How To Deal With Challenging People and Win Them Over

Inevitably, as we travel through life, we will encounter challenging people- be they family, friends, co-workers or strangers.  It's not easy dealing with someone with a difficult personality especially those who push our buttons, because they often turn us into people we don't like. But I love a challenge and have always looked at troublesome people and situations as a spiritual game of sorts: can I turn that person or situation from a negative to a positive. I don't think I've ever failed.

The first thing you have to do is set aside your pre-judgements and know that coming from a loving heart everything is possible. Most people will eventually react in a positive way if you are kind and loving, but it can take time to wear them down, and it does take effort on your part.  It's not easy to be unconditional when you are faced with hateful or disagreeable individuals, but the work will usually pay off in the end.

I remember working years ago as an actress for a murder mystery dinner theatre company at a restaurant where in addition to our acting duties we also served dinner.  We had to share the kitchen with the serving staff of the restaurant and they were not too happy to share the space.  At first, they were rude and unaccommodating, so I immediately made it my mission to win them over, and eventually did.  It was actually quite simple really, and cost me nothing more than a nightly, friendly 'hello, how are you'. They didn't really respond at first, and most people would have just given up, but this is where my love of a challenge came in:  I continued to engage them until they started to respond. I did this by going out of my way to say hello, commiserating with them about challenging customers, thanking them for sharing the space, and just being nice.  It worked, and made things a lot more pleasant. I did the same thing with some women in an office where I was temping.  After a while they were going out of their way to be nice to me.

There are other ways to diffuse negative people and situations without ever coming in contact with them. Affirmations and visualization are both great ways of changing things around.  You can do this by affirming harmony in all your relationships, or visualizing white light, or love, or whatever you find appropriate surrounding the person you are having trouble with. This has also worked for me on many occasions.

It really doesn't take much, just a little persistence and you can win over pretty much anyone. However, if for some reason they don't respond regardless of your efforts, then let go and detach, but refuse to stoop to their level of negativity.

Shopping for a cause: Adoptashelter for abandoned and neglected pets

During bad economic times one the first things financially strapped people give up is their beloved pets. If they've lost homes or can barely feed their family, they certainly won't be able to feed their animals, so off they go to shelters. As a result, animal shelters across the country are feeling the strain and in desperate need of funding.  One wonderful way of donating to these shelters without actually having to donate any money yourself, is by using http://www.adoptashelter.com/ for all your on-line shopping needs.  It costs you and the shelters absolutely nothing, plus there's no registration, no creating an account and no fees.

The process is actually quite simple: go to their website, choose a shelter from one of two drop down menus, then you can shop away at the many different participating stores including Best Buy, Old Navy, Petsmart, Petco, Orbitz, Itunes, Walmart, Lowes and many other well known, and lesser known merchants. Those merchants then pay adoptashelter a commission for every purchase made through the adoptapshelter website, and the best part is that 100% of that amount goes directly to the shelter of your choice.

New Year's Resolutions How To- out with the old, in with the new

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.”  Edith Lovejoy Pierce

The start of a new year is the perfect time to transform our lives by discarding what is no longer useful or helpful to us, be that physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. It's also a great opportunity to embrace the things that will benefit us and make us better human beings. Making those annual 'New Year's resolutions' is a great way of implementing that change, as long as we are realistic and don't berate ourselves at the end of the year for failing to achieve all of our goals. But go ahead and make that list, and keep checking back to reaffirm what it is you want to accomplish during the year, remembering that things can change, and that's okay.

Here are some steps to help you along the way.

1. Determine what you want:  Think about what it is you really want your  life to be, who you want to be. What are your dreams and aspirations?  What would you like to accomplish?  The more passionate you are about it, the more likely it is you will bring about that change.


2. Write them down:  It's important to put it in writing, plus you will have it there for reference throughout the year. Being very specific often helps certain individuals, since it gives them something to work towards. On the other hand being too specific could set you up for failure, so if you are one of those types it's probably best to be a little more ambiguous about the things you want to accomplish. For example, if you'd like to lose some weight or exercise more, rather than giving yourself a specific objective, be more general:  "I want to lose weight" rather than "I want to lose 20 pounds".  Personally, I'd love to lose 10 pounds, but I'd be happy with 5. 

3. Write in the affirmative: When making resolutions or affirmations, it's very important to write in the affirmative rather than the negative. "I want to be more patient with people" is far more powerful than "I no longer wish to be impatient with people." 
4. Visualize achieving your goals: Picture yourself doing or being whatever it is you want to achieve. How does that feel? What does it look like in your mind's eye. Feel the actual emotions of being or doing whatever it is you want to be or do. Act as if.

5. Plan of Action:  You might also want to write down a step by step plan on how you intend to reach your goals. And some of your goals might be interconnected.  Say you want to lose weight and you also want to exercise more, exercising more will be part of the plan to help you lose those extra pounds. If you want to be more loving and generous, detail the ways in which you might do that, and whether that will entail money or actions: by donating to charitable organizations or donating your time to help someone in need. Detailing those plans gets you steps closer to achieving them.  It's like a contract between you and the universe.

Whether you have a few resolutions or a long list, keep in mind that as you travel through the year things could and will change. Be flexible. Some goals might not seem as important and will drop off your list, and you might wind up adding some along the way. 

Remember, you always have each day to regroup and start afresh and the effort is what is most important.

Keys To Happiness: Giving During Times Of Need

"You make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give."

The above quote is often attributed to Sir Winston Churchill, though there are those who would disagree. But regardless of who actually uttered those words, the sentiment is what matters most.

Generosity can be challenging, especially during these difficult economic times. When we have little for ourselves, we find it hard to justify giving to others, but giving doesn't necessarily require donating money to those less privileged than ourselves. There are many different ways to give, other than monetarily:

Time:

Help someone learn to read or to learn English.
Mentor an at-risk youth.
Drive someone to their doctor's appointment, or help them run errands.
Offer to help an elderly neighbour clean their house.
Volunteer at a Veteran's Hospital.

Possessions:

Give some old clothes to a homeless shelter.
Give away old toys and books to family in need.
Donate old glasses, cell phones, hotel soaps and shampoos to the various organizations that take them.

Yourself:

Smile at strangers, you'll be amazed at how this can lift a person's spirits.
Compliment someone on how they look, or a job well done.
Give someone a hug.
Tell someone you love and appreciate them.


Giving, without conditions, makes us feel good. And seeing others help without expectations, inspires the rest of us. One of my favorite TV commercials is a Liberty Mutual ad that shows various people witnessing random acts of kindness by others; and, inspired by what they observe they, in turn, do the same for others. It's the whole pay-it-forward phenomenon. If we see someone being kind to another, it makes us want to do the same thing.

So, go out, give of your money, time or possessions- it's the right thing to do. Let's take care of each other.

"There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are always attained by giving them to someone else."

By Peyton Conway March