ON GENEROSITY & TOGETHERNESS

Our hearts have been touched and our minds have been inspired by witnessing acts of kindness (both big and small) in our world. Generosity is the first of the Six Perfections or Paramitas in Buddhism, and one that can really transform our lives when we embrace it.

When we give back, or simply learn to share what we have, we begin to overcome our idea of separation. We begin to understand that, whether we like it or not, we live in relationship to others. And when we understand our common connection, we want others to thrive too.

Generosity stretches beyond giving money to charities or sharing a meal. When we step out of our restricted perspective of self-concern and into the more expansive view of “us,” we find ourselves naturally wanting to share our attention, our time, energy, love and resources with others. And we keep doing it because making other people happy can genuinely make us happy! 

What we find interesting is that there's actually some science behind the benefits of altruism. You know that warm, glowing feeling that you get after doing something kind? A chemical release of serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin is taking place within you, which means generosity can be a tool for fighting our own anxiety, depression and even pain.

We invite you to embrace generosity this week, and would love to SHARE our practices with you.