The only things we ever possess are the things we can give away

Okay, so I don’t get it, but it’s true all the same. The only thing we ever have in life is the thing we give away. The more we give with the heart to give, the happier we are.

Giving breeds gratitude.

The only time we get to feel alive is when our time is spent productively; when we walk away feeling, “Well, that was time well spent.” We gave our time away only to get what only a gift given away can get us.

Acquisition is the biggest lie of all. The more we get, the more we’ve lost. Check the treasures stored in your heart at the time you gave all you had to give and had no thought of anything else.

The emptier the wallet or purse, the fuller the heart, provided you have it to give. It’s no good having only $5 for bread and milk and giving it away. You starve. But many people have more money than they truly need, and they are miserable because money has a hold over them. When we live week to week, learn to give other things. Don’t feel guilty if you can’t tithe. Give in other ways.

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Don’t feel guilty, because guilt is a thief.
Invest in emotions that give.
Live free of every prison of the mind.

Whenever we have something to give our heart blossoms.

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Kindness. A smile. A listening ear. Sitting with the infirmed. Carrying objects from one place to another. Read a story to a child. Give away objects you don’t need. Wrap a gift creatively. Wash a windshield. Hang it, do the whole car. Give a compliment sincerely. Don’t hold back. Offer to give a foot massage to someone who would like it.

In the giving of gifts, God gives us gifts. The more we give, the more we receive. The more we receive, the more we want to give away.

Sing to someone, and if you can’t hold a note, hum a lullaby and make it cute. Share innocent humour with the anxious. Reminisce with an older person. Get reflectively philosophical without being opinionated. Offer to clean something. Run an errand with joy. Offer to give someone a ride somewhere. Do anything to go out of your way for them, and do it cost free in a pay-it-forward sort of way. Buy bunches of flowers so you have to give them away. Write notes of kindness and leave them to be found. Do your love, then disappear. Get someone scratching their head because of your unusual generosity. Let someone cut in front of you. Smile when you’re angry, even as you tell yourself to chill. Give someone the gift of your patience. Do anything that can only bless. And always be ready to say sorry.

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As we give our lives away,
we get to keep ourselves.

We only lose ourselves
when we wrestle to control everything.

The only things we ever possessed were the things we gave away.

You get the idea.

 Photo by Buco Balkanessi on Unsplash