Being Generous Costs So Little

Being generous begins in the heart. It's very different from spending a lot, because I'm not talkin' money here, though being generous may involve having to dish it out sometimes. No, being generous is a spirit of giving out of your abundance, and even more so out of your lack thereof. (sidebar, I never ever thought I would use lack thereof when writing, but it is appropriate here). When Wally and Betty were growing up I used this phrase a lot: when we've got something nice to share, we share it! I don't even know where it came from, probably an Adventures in Odyssey story. Anyway it just meant that we don't hoard things, we spread the goodness around.

It's a good life philosophy and is one of those character building qualities that sometimes you don't appreciate until you are older. It show others that you value them. You can do this in monetary ways, by paying for their lunch, dinner or even just a special coffee at Starbucks. You can also do this by being thoughtful in other ways, like doing something special for them, picking something up while out shopping that you think that they would like.

You can also expand this philosophy into the broader world. Leave a nice tip, instead of exactly 15 or 20%. I mean, there's being frugal and then there's being cheap! For a $20 meal, 20% would be $4. But leaving $5 makes you a generous person! The difference of $1 between what's expected, and "Wow, thank you!"

Having a generous spirit can also have nothing to do with how much you spend, but your behavior in any given situation. I'll give the example of waiting in line, because that can easily escalate from just being a little impatient to anger. Unfairness is a fact of life, so when little injustices happen to you, try to accept them for what they are, minor inconveniences. I know from experience that they don't feel that way at the time! But really, unless you're late for brain surgery, how bad can being a few minutes late be?