Why Give?

 Why SHOULD we give? Is that really the question? I once had a teacher that told me, "Don't should on yourself." He was right. "Should" is in most of our minds synonymous with guilt, obligation, being dragged to do something, as in "I should be at the gym" or "I should take out the trash." Shoulding on yourself really is an unpleasant experience.

We have come to think of giving in that same way. "I should volunteer." "I should donate some of my paycheck to this charity thing at work." But it leaves us with kind of a sick feeling. We feel obligated, feel somehow it's the right thing to do, but don't really feel connected to it, and sometimes even feel taken advantage of and angry. After all, you have worked hard for your money and you have very little free time, so it makes sense that these demands could leave you feeling resentful and wanting to put up boundaries. But that's actually the opposite of what giving could be.

Instead imagine putting your time and resources into something that made you feel excited and inspired.
Imagine that you felt like you were really touching lives or making a difference in some way.
Imagine that instead of something you should do, giving was something you wanted to do.

What would it take for giving to be that kind of experience for you? I believe each one of us has something that makes us feel ALIVE in that way, whether it is playing with kids or mountain climbing. There is something that gets us so jazzed we could talk about it all day and night and we want everyone to share this interest with us because it's just so cool. That's the sweet spot.

If you do that thing, it will enrich your life. But if you share it with others through giving you take it to the next level. Not only are you involved with something you love, but you share it with others who really need it. It comes back full circle - you participate in whatever way you choose in your passion, you share it in a way that offers great benefit to someone or something else, and then you benefit again by gaining the glow that comes with helping. There are a cascade of other benefits as well. But the glow of giving to something that you care deeply about and knowing that you've helped others too feels amazing.

So why should we give? Not because we should. Because we each have something unique to share that is just bursting to get out. Oh, and it makes the world a better place too. Perfect.