Sharing is the most natural thing that humans can do. Instinctively, we all want to give and receive. Sharing doesn’t make you poor or make you feel less; on the contrary, it can even make you feel more abundant and be grateful. Just like love or the light of candle, the more you share it, the more it’s going to shine bright on you. Anything we give to others, we give it to ourselves.
Sharing, or giving, is such an awesome act because it accrues merit and creates good karma. Wise men said, with this good karma you planted, luck may not yet happen to you now, but you are already avoiding distress in the future.
There are many ways of sharing and it doesn’t always have to require money. We can share even the little things in life. By giving, we can learn to be the better version of ourselves. Here are some forms of sharing you can do. Let’s do it from the simplest one.
1. Smile
See, it’s not always about the material things. By smiling, you can share happiness to others, those who badly need a smile right now. When people are sad, sometimes they only need a smile to make them feel better. It may not solve the problem, but at least we can cheer them up.
2. Quality time and attention
Spare time with your loved ones. Quality time means giving someone your undivided attention. You can take a walk, or eat out with them and converse. Maybe you’d think it’s not much, but it can mean a lot for them. Time is a precious commodity. We all have multiple demands on our time, yet each of us has the exact same hours in a day. We can make the most of those hours by committing some of them to our loved ones.
3. Family as priority
You can help others, but please remember to first look around you. Is there a family in need? Pay close attention to your closed ones. It is okay if we’re busy giving to others, but also give our attention to our family member who needs our help.
4. Giving to strangers
Giving to our closed ones is really nice, but it’s also wonderful if we can expand our love by giving to people who we don’t even know at all. When we treat them like we treat our own family, we practice compassion and we can learn much from this experience. We can share some food, money, clothes, books, and also love and attention.
5. Goods or gifts
Giving in the form of goods or gifts is also a form of love expression. Start looking for stuff in your closet that are still worth to use. Spare clothes that you don’t need anymore. Maybe we used to like them, but when they don’t have a place in our heart anymore, please be aware that there are people out there who may need them, and we can donate those stuff. And if you’d like to buy something as a gift, do it anytime you want. We don’t need to wait until birthday, anniversary, or any other special occasions to share some gifts. By giving even the simplest things, people will know that we think of them and that we care about them.
6. Words of affirmation
As written in the book “Five Love Languages”, one way to express love emotionally is to use words that boost the spirit up. Verbal compliments, or words of appreciation, are powerful communicators of love. They are best expressed in simple, straightforward statements of affirmation. Anyone would be happy to get complimented once in a while and anyone would be happy when they feel supported and loved. Advises are also counted as words of affirmation.
7. Ears to listen, shoulder to cry on
In this era when everyone is busy talking and voicing out their opinions, a pair of ears that listen sincerely become something special. Oftentimes, people who tell us their stories don’t want to hear our advice and the least, our judgement. They only need to be heard. So, listen carefully, with lots of compassion. Many people feel relieved and healed just because they can express themselves and feel understood and loved.
8. Physical touch
A tap in the shoulder to a friend who needs our support, a holding hand to people who are lonely, and a rub in the head for the partner that we love can be something special if we do it with sincere heart. Physical touch is not only important for romantic partners, but it’s also important to be practiced between friends, children and parents, even between teachers and students.
9. Money
The amount of money you give doesn’t always matter. What matter most is how sincere you are. Some people give easily without knowing whether the recipient actually need the goods they deliver, or not. That’s why we need to first find out what someone needs before we are in a hurry to give.
And the list can still go on veeeeryyyy loooooonggg… But these days giving is such a trend in our society. And some of us are being ashamed or intimidated when we give; giving to receive a favor in return; giving to be praised; these are impure motivations. Buddha teaches us that when we give to others, we give without expectation of reward. We give without attaching ourselves to either the gift or the recipient. We practice giving to release greed and self-clinging.
Giving with pure motivations is called dana paramita, which means the perfection of giving. The Buddhist monks said,
“The practice of giving is universally recognized as one of the most basic human virtues, a quality that testifies to the depth of one’s humanity and one’s capacity for self-transcendence. In the teaching of the Buddha, too, the practice of giving claims a place of special eminence, one which singles it out as being in a sense the foundation and seed of spiritual development.”
By practicing this we can be the agent of change and be the good news for people around us. We can show people how wonderful it is to be able to share and how beneficial it is for our lives.
So, which one of these nine forms of sharing that you often practice? Which ones that you seldom do? And what’s your resolution and commitment after this? Is there other forms of sharing that you often perform? You can share with us in the comment column below.
Remember, giving doesn’t make you poor, it can even make you feel more abundant. At least, your heart will be full of love and happiness because you have done things that make others and yourself happy. We can feel truly happy when we feel useful for others. I hope you are happy at this moment you are reading this.
Please share this article to as much people as you can because well… sharing is caring! 🙂 Thank you for reading and see you soon!
Love and light,
Amelia is a Quantum Healing Practitioner and Intuitive Coach. Her goal is to help you find out who you truly are and why you are here, and therefore, support you to live yourself as the true you – the best version of yourself. She does that by giving you tools that you can immediately apply to improve your life, your relationship, your career, your health and many more than you can possibly dreamed of by incorporating methods such as past life regression, hypnotherapy, chakra wisdom healing, clearing, card reading, life coaching and meditation. Now, she serves through one-on-one therapies and coaching, and also offline and online classes, workshops and retreats. She regularly shares her passion through the newsletters that you can subscribe for free at ameliadevina.com. You can contact Amelia at hello@ameliadevina.com or her Facebook page and her instagram/ twitter @ameliadevina777.
