East Ottawa Star
Published: Friday, August 7, 2009 Giving is good karma There must be something about vacations which gets me all reflective and slipping into my alter ego, uber-life coach mode. No doubt the hot Mexican sun and a few cervezas have probably helped things along. Don’t worry, I’m not gloating since we’ve had our share of rain here as well. But it came to me in a siesta that the secret to life is in the giving. For in giving the universe has a great way of in turn ensuring that you receive. Call it karma, destiny or whatever; it seems to play out this way. So what should we give? Well to start, if you can, time and money to a cause in which you believe whether it be the local community resource centre, affiliated United Way agency, charitable cause or sponsoring a child half-way around the world. It’s all good, senor, as they say down here in the Mayan Riviera. Next up, give the gift of friendship to your neighbours. If good fences make good neighbours, then unconditional generosity (a beer, a spare hand or a lift home) makes great neighbours. As for those that serve you in a restaurant, at a store, the gas station clerk or on the bus, give them the gift of your acknowledgment and respect. Look into their eyes and brighten their day with a kind word, for you are just one of dozens or hundreds of interactions they will have today. The same goes for busboys, the late-night office cleaner, the parking lot attendant, the coat check girl, theatre usher and countless other less visible jobs that people do. Be memorable to all of them for the right reasons. Give the gift of your attention to a child. Get down to their vantage point (ouch, there goes the back again) and engage a child you know in a conversation. And for me it usually includes permission for the child to call me Walter, not sir, or Mr. Robinson. Yes, this may go against some parents’ teachings, but it is what I wish to be called. It builds a bond and everyone without exception likes to be called by their name. Give people the gift of your thought before speaking. Ponder what they have said before responding. Note to self: This gift needs some work. Give a book, don’t lend it. If the book is that important to you, buy your own copy for your bookshelf. And give books that have the most meaning to you. Two friends of mine gave me amazing gifts over the past few years ... they gave me their books of faith. A former pharmaceutical CEO with whom I worked gave me a copy of the Book of Mormon while one of my election volunteers gave me an English-Arabic copy of the Quran. They did this not to convert me to their faiths, but out of friendship and respect so I could better understand them. These were both humbling gifts. What other gifts can we share, please give me your ideas. = = = = =
Comments can be sent to Walter Robinson at orleansouttakes@transcontinental.ca. |