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Issue # 35 | To Your Success | Dec, 2006 |
"The smallest good deed is better than the grandest good intention." ----- Duguet CHARITY I don't suppose you're too surprised by this month's topic, are you? After all, this is a time of year when much attention is placed on lending a helping hand to those in need. "True enough", you might be thinking, "but how exactly will this topic relate to me moving forward in my life, achieving what I want to achieve? After all, that's what these newsletters are supposed to help me do, aren't they." Good point … but let's just follow along for a moment and see where this goes. As I'm bent to do, I again dragged out my trusty Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary and looked up the word Charity. The first part of the definition was certainly no surprise, "giving voluntarily to those in need", nor was the second, "an institution or organization for helping those in need". No question, this is a time when many of us do give voluntarily to those in need, and we often do so through a number of wonderful organizations set up to accommodate that. The third part of the definition though stopped me, "kindness, benevolence - tolerance in judging others - love of one's fellow men". Whoa, that's pretty interesting! In these modern times how many of us link Charity with kindness, tolerance in judgment and, oh my goodness, LOVE of one's fellow men? Okay, kindness perhaps … we can certainly see how giving to someone in need is an act of kindness. And tolerance in judging others? Well, maybe. I suppose it's possible that we might make that connection as well. After all, at this time of year when we're being charitable we may even occasionally get down off our high horse and just let others be who they are without judging them, well some of them anyway. But love of one's fellow men? What's with that, and what does it have to do with being charitable at Christmas? I mean, really. I'm in the holiday spirit, I'm shopping around buying some stuff, and then there's this person standing out in the cold beside a donation box ringing some bells. Now maybe I feel a bit guilty that I have pretty much everything I need while some others don't have enough, so I drop a few bucks in there and leave feeling better. Yeah, that feels pretty good actually. Okay, I did it. I provided an act of charity. I also covered the first two parts of the definition by giving voluntarily to those in need through an appropriate organization. But being tolerant in judging, and actually loving them - is that necessary? And how in the world would I go about doing that anyway? So here I sit contemplating all of this and … hold it, a light just went on, two of them actually, blink blink. The first light illuminates question door number two, the one with Love on it. It reminds me of several words and phrases I've read in the past that describe love, particularly love of fellow man, woman, child, whatever, we'll just say 'other'. They are, 'inclusive', 'non-judgmental', 'accepting', 'respectful' and 'unconditional'. Hmmm, don't see anything in there about 'passionate' so I guess this might be doable in terms of loving an 'other' that I don't even really know … but some of those words are pretty powerful. That's when the second light comes on and illuminates door number two, the one that says 'Tolerant in Judging'. You see, if I'm truly loving my fellow other, then Tolerant in Judging isn't even an issue … I won't be judging at all, period, tolerantly or in any other way! I will be loving them unconditionally. In other words, accepting them without judgment and seeing them as worthy of respect, whether or not they conform to my idea of what is or is not correct or appropriate. So now when I look back at Charity, I begin to see it in a different light. I see it as voluntarily giving kindness and respect to those in need (which now that I think of it, is ALL of us). And what's exciting about this is I don't have to wait till Christmas to be charitable because it doesn't have to cost anything to give this. I can do it all year round every single day whether I have extra money or not. Amazing! "Hold it, hold it, hold it", I can hear a mind in the distance thinking, "you're getting all soft and mushy now, caught right up in the Christmas spirit. How will this help me move forward in MY life and achieve everything that's important to ME?" Good point again … let's quickly explore that. If you've been a reader of 'To Your Success' for any length of time you probably have some understanding of how it is that you get what you get in life. You've heard me refer to a series of Mental Laws that explain how 'the quality of your thinking' determines 'the quality of your life' in each and every area. You should also be familiar with the concept of positive thoughts having a very high frequency and that, when accompanied by feelings or emotion; they have a very strong attractive power (Law of Attraction). They inevitably bring to you the 'thinker' other thoughts, people and circumstances in harmony with them. This very same rule, by the way, applies to low frequency negative thoughts accompanied by feelings or emotion. In other words, whatever you think about on an ongoing basis, you attract. Or put still another way, you are a living magnet attracting into your life the content of your thoughts. You see, thoughts and actions of love, non-judgment, acceptance, respect and kindness are high frequency and high-energy. They not only make you feel good, they also have strong attractive power. And they play right into another of these laws called the Law of Reciprocity, which basically says that what you send out is what you get back, multiplied many times. Soooo? So, when you are being charitable and non-judgmental, sending out to others gifts of love, respect and kindness, what do you think is being drawn back to you? You guessed it; exactly the same … multiplied. Pretty soon people start doing nice things for you and treating you with respect, doors of opportunity open, good things just happen. The gifts you've given to others come back to you in different forms, and in strange and mysterious ways … multiplied. You might say that being Charitable all year round; being non-judgmental, kind, accepting and respectful, is a selfish act. You could say that because you'll likely receive at least as much benefit as those you are giving to. Isn't it interesting how life works? So what do you think, can we do this? Can we put into practice what we've been discussing here, all year long? Let's try. "Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting." ------ Elizabeth Bibesco Wishing you the very best of this wonderful season, WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE FOR YOUR E-ZINE OR WEBSITE? You can as long as you include the following complete statement with it: Reg Neufeld, founder of Growing Into Success Training, is a teacher of life success and achievement principles using practical, step-by-step processes that can help you get from where you are to where you want to be. If you're ready to take control and begin living a truly happy and successful life, get your FREE success tips now at www.growingintosuccess.com SHARE WITH FRIENDS!... If you’re enjoying this free newsletter you can pass it along by forwarding this issue to a friend who might appreciate it. 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