Last night a friend treated us to dinner. We had delicious food and shared a bottle of wine. We laughed and talked and hugged. We said ‘I love you” as we parted ways. I was thinking about how generous she is and about how the entire evening was filled with joy and ease. This morning I looked up the word generous at dictionary.com and found this: to be free from meanness or smallness of mind or character.
This was my experience of our dinner together. It really wasn’t about the food, although it was excellent. The wine was a very good Cabernet…but it wasn’t about the wine. We shared our life stories and toasted to my new job…and still this was not really what these moments were about. The preciousness of these moments together was fulfilled by the consciousness from which it originated. The entire evening was infused by her generosity…by a pureness in character of mind, an unwavering belief in abundance and a heart expressing only love.
Generosity is not about giving some thing to somebody. That’s easy. Generosity, as with all spiritual practices, is rooted in the changing of our mind…of elevating our thinking to a higher place inside and gaining a new perspective. To be truly generous we must first be free from thoughts of lack and not enough…and the expectation of payback. Only then can we experience joy and ease…and I would add, peace of mind.
I am grateful for your generosity, dear friend. I am feeling it even this morning.
Much, much love
Paula
