Generosity

My days of focusing upon generosity broadened my perspective. Even though I know that generosity means more than a monetary equation, it is where my mind first went. I set out to not be stingy, not hold off on the larger latte for my wife, not say "no" when the kids wanted something. Then I went back to the meaning...I looked at the synonyms:

All heart, alms-giving, altruism, beneficence, benevolence, bounteousness, bounty, charitableness, charity, free giving, goodness, heart, high-mindedness, hospitality, kindness, largesse, liberality, magnanimity, munificence, nobleness, openhandedness, philanthropy, profusion, readiness, unselfishness...

Generosity, I had to remind myself is more than the monotization of life -- it is a process or way of being that focusing upon the goodness that comes from giving. Giving of the mind, of the heart, of the body...it is about being a person that is not stingy about their own being.

The best aspect is giving without expectation of return...and I think this is the deeper and more functional meaning of generosity. Giving a gift in hopes that it will result in a return gift, whether that be a physical, tangible one or an emotional gift is not generosity. It is bartering.