One of the things I've learned from living with over 20 different roommates in the past eight years, is that it helps to have an attitude of generosity.
Generosity encompasses much more than giving money. We can be generous in our thoughts by thinking well of people and giving them excuses when things go wrong. We can be generous in our words by thanking people, complimenting them and praising their good work. We can be generous in our time by listening, spending time with people and paying attention to them. We can be generous in our actions by doing things that we think others would appreciate. It could be washing dishes or taking out the garbage or choosing to buy the type of juice or cereal they like or adjusting the driver's seat of the car after we're done with it so that they don't have to adjust it themselves when they use it next. The possibilities for being generous are endless -- and most of them, especially the most meaningful ones, have nothing to do with money.
Having an attitude of generosity goes a long way towards living happily with people. The key is, in our generosity we mustn't come with an expectation of reciprocation from others. Some people may be generous in return and some may not. We may also find our generosity rewarded in ways that we could never have foreseen. But even if we don't see such rewards, internally we feel the reward of our generosity through a goodness growing in our hearts. And ultimately, we pray that the final rewards of our generosity come from The Most Generous.
Generosity encompasses much more than giving money. We can be generous in our thoughts by thinking well of people and giving them excuses when things go wrong. We can be generous in our words by thanking people, complimenting them and praising their good work. We can be generous in our time by listening, spending time with people and paying attention to them. We can be generous in our actions by doing things that we think others would appreciate. It could be washing dishes or taking out the garbage or choosing to buy the type of juice or cereal they like or adjusting the driver's seat of the car after we're done with it so that they don't have to adjust it themselves when they use it next. The possibilities for being generous are endless -- and most of them, especially the most meaningful ones, have nothing to do with money.
Having an attitude of generosity goes a long way towards living happily with people. The key is, in our generosity we mustn't come with an expectation of reciprocation from others. Some people may be generous in return and some may not. We may also find our generosity rewarded in ways that we could never have foreseen. But even if we don't see such rewards, internally we feel the reward of our generosity through a goodness growing in our hearts. And ultimately, we pray that the final rewards of our generosity come from The Most Generous.
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