Interestingly, While I don’t think I would have agreed with all of Winston Churchill’s ideas, I do agree with his notion on giving. I think Mother Theresa would also; but she might add that the giving life we build should be based in love. And that giving under any other pretense maybe self serving at its worst. But what does it really mean to give until it hurts, as Mother Theresa is so often quoted, and is there a deeper value for us when we do?
Most think of sacrificing something for others when we think of giving. But I think the meaning and value of giving really starts in our hearts. What we give to others may be money, or our time, or things, but how we give is really at the core of giving till it hurts. I don’t think Mother Theresa would want anyone to experience any real pain by giving. What she is quoted as saying is “Give, but give until it hurts.” The important word here is the word “until.” She never says giving is suppose to hurt, rather give until you hit that point in your giving that isn’t good for you any longer. Give right up to your ability to give, while still preserving your wellbeing. When we do this we maximize the amount of charity that we embody and we become connected to others through our compassion.
But I think there is an even deeper meaning to giving maximally motivated by love. When we feel a shared connection with others, that is based in feelings of love, we instantly become part of a collaborative effort of kindness and togetherness that some might call family. And if we can see the need in our world as opportunities to deeply connect through collaboratively loving then we have a chance of living as a global family. This is my kind of utopia in which we all feel the loving connection between ourselves and every living and non-living thing in this universe. We are love. We are joy. We are so very very good.
