Thoughts on giving

One who gives
Freely and without attachment
Gets a full life in return
Tao 48

The trick is not the first line - we all give. All the time. We give to our jobs, our kids, our family. It is the price of admission to society. Everyone gives.

No, the trick is the second line - freely and without attachment. Freely, as in from the heart. Not out of obligation or compulsion - and without attachment. As in without expectation. That is the rub, isn't it? To give without expectation, to love without conditions?

Without sounding too idealistic, I am just thinking about what love is. I'm thinking of those few times in life I've been able to give to someone, when I knew there was no chance they could reciprocate - the homeless man, the traveler who needed gas money to get home.

As I remember the joy and lightness I felt, the sheer wonder of serendipity that brought us together, I am thankful. And I think, you know, I need to do that more often.

And now, the last line of the verse - "gets a full life in return."

That sounds about right.

dg

8/10

Sent from my iPad

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