TOW#574 — Giving
Generally speaking, giving to charity means handing over something (tangible, intangible) without expecting anything in return.
However, are we actually giving and/or how much are we giving!?
I was initially inspired to write on this topic when I read the story of St. Nicholas, i.e. the real origins of the whole concept of Santa Claus. It feels like he’s the patron saint of every other family here in Macedonia, but I believe that 99% of us have no idea who St. Nicholas was, why he was so loved and why he got the ‘Saint’ before his name (I admit I also didn’t know before reading the story).
So, the story begins around 280AD with the birth of Nicholas (a monk) in Patara (Myra), modern day Turkey. It is said he was very pious and kind, and it’s believed that he gave away all his (inherited) wealth and wandered the land helping the poor and sick. The most important thing is that he didn’t ask for anything in return, and even hid from people so that they wouldn’t know who had helped them. And this is where the legend of Santa Claus comes from. One of the stories about St. Nicholas is that he saved three sisters whose father wanted to sell them into slavery because the family was so poor. For three nights in a row, he placed enough money into the girls’ socks to buy their freedom. That’s why on New Year’s Eve (or Christmas Eve in the West) socks are hung up next to the Christmas tree. The name Santa Claus comes from Sinter Klaas, short for Sint Nikolaas, as he was known by Dutch migrants living in the US.
Of course, who else but the Americans, all the way back in 1820, took the idea of Santa Claus and began promoting him as an icon and created the concept of New Year/Christmas shopping. And the rest is history.
But let’s get back to the topic — GIVING!? Do we give, and how much!? If we look around, and if we’re at least a bit reasonable and aware, we’ll realise that we don’t really give very much. Despite the fact that we’re told to give from all sides (religions, gurus, parables, folk tales, etc.), and that giving is the purpose of existence, that “the hand that gives never dries up”, that you have two hands — one for giving and one for taking (balance), and so on.., yet somehow giving is still not second nature to us. We don’t like giving much. We prefer taking. Well, now, if we take into account the social order and the capitalist (material) system in which we live, that it’s based on selfishness, taking and ‘more’, then it’s no surprise that we’re not into the habit of giving. Still, what’s most interesting is that it’s actually in our nature to give. When we give:
• We feel good: research shows that activity increases in the part of the brain that registers pleasure.
• We strengthen our personal values: 96% of respondents (https://www.cafonline.org/) said that they give donations because they felt a moral obligation to help others (natural instinct), and that’s the way to work on developing true values.
• We cleanse ourselves karmically: you may not be very interested in Eastern philosophies, but let me quickly share something about how the East works. The initial, basic level in yoga is Karma Yoga (not asanas, meditations, astral projections, chakras, auras, etc.). It simply means doing good for/to others. When someone wants to become a monk, the first thing they’re taught in Buddhist temples is Karma Yoga. A great many businesses donate minimum 10% of their profits to charity. The famous Beatles, after their stay in India, decided to start donating 25% of their monthly earnings (or one week’s worth).
Doing for others means EMPATHY (YOU). Taking is the EGO (I). We’ve written a lot about this, but this is just so we can clearly see why it’s easier for us to take than to give. We always take care of ourselves first, rather than others.
Be an example to others, teach your children to give. Because if they don’t learn from an early age, and we teach them that “this toy is yours, don’t share it or give it to a friend”, then of course when they grow up they won’t want to share or give anything to others.
In terms of giving, it’s very important (the most important) that you don’t expect anything in return. If you give, but expect others to give you something back, then you’ve failed the test and aren’t doing it for the proper reasons (you’ll notice this when you give and get angry if the person doesn’t give something in return, or doesn’t say thank you). If you donate 10 computers to a home, but spend 10 times as much money advertising on TV, then forget about it — straight to hell, Dante’s ninth circle.
You have one week until the New Year. Set yourself the task of doing something good for someone, helping someone, making them happy, donating or doing a good deed for others.
Wishing you success with the changes to come and happy holidays!
Read you next year,
Petar Lazarov
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