7 Ways to Practice Generosity Rev Ed Bacon

presents 7seven steps to help you open your heart and live in the
spirit of loving abundance.
Fear can lead us to live lives of self-absorption, in which we
covet blessings instead of conferring them on others. We find
we cant let go, we assume the worst, we feel insecure, we act
without thinkingor perhaps we do not act enough. It is hardly
surprising that amid the pressure of day-to-day life and under
the yoke of a fearful culture many of us struggle to open our
hearts and be generous.
But as the wise Stephen Mitchell has reminded me, if we can only
trust that ultimately the universe is kind, we will be released
from the fear of scarcity that drives us. We will be able to live
with gratitude and extend that gratitude outward in the service
of others. Consciously practicing the Habit of Generosity will
help us live our lives in the spirit of loving abundance.

1.

Make a list of five things for which you are grateful today.
You may have some previous experience with such a gratitude
list; this time notice the change in yourselfin your energy field
as you write. See if you can feel your fearful self actually
shifting to your loving self. Notice that all of those items on
your list were gifts to you from some other hand. Consider
yourself as a Sea of Galilee with the joyful responsibility of
sharing with others what you have received from others.
2.
Take an inventory of the relationships in which you are
afraid. Has a coworker consistently belittled you in the office?
Is a parent disapproving of your life choices? Do you have a
friend you have hurt or disappointed, or vice versa? Experiment

with visiting one of these individualsthis can be in your mind

initially, until the courage comes whenever possible and/or
practical for you to see this person face to face. Before the
visit, take some time to think in peace. Adopt an attitude that
you are going merely to bless this person, to express the
kindness of the universe to him or her. Notice how your fear
subsides.
3.
The next time you are in a meetingwhether a formal
meeting or sharing a meal with a friendend with a moment in
which everyone can express their appreciations and their
regrets. At All Saints Church, we train every committee chair to
end meetings this way; this is a chance to acknowledge the kind
and generous acts of another, or to acknowledge our own failures
to act in such a manner. Once sufficient space is given, which at
first can seem quite uncomfortable, almost every time someone
will have noticed a moment of kindness contained in anothers
remark or concern. That in turn gives rise to someone else
mentioning another moment in the meeting that meant something
to him or her. In short order the energy in the room has
existentially changed. You may find you leave your meeting to
deal with your next responsibilities with a different outlook.
Each person becomes more aware of something sacred in the
world and in life. You may never call it the Beloved, but you carry
a different vibrational frequency out of that encounter.
4.

Consider how much money you currently give away every

year. Compare it proportionally to your annual household income.
Stretch yourself to give away a larger percentage; you could
start with 10 percent of your spending money. Be aware of the
effect that this giving has on your fear quotient. My experience
is that with every percentage point I give approaching 10

percent of my total income and then beyond, the less clenched

and fearful I am about money, and the more careful I am in
budgeting the rest. Those of us throughout the world who give
10 percent or more know that the remaining 90 percent goes
much farther as a result of having given the 10 percent away.
5.
Perhaps you are deeply in debt or your budget just barely
meets your needs, and you find giving away money causes too
much anxiety for you to do so with equanimity. But we all do have
the capacity to give, even if it is only a little. Each small effort
at financial generosity brings you closer to leaving behind your
fear of scarcity. Even when money is tight we have a tendency to
buy lattes, grab a T-shirt that is on sale, rent a car we may not
actually need. Work toward incrementally eliminating these small
purchases and putting that money aside instead, for a cause that
moves you. In this way, you are taking small but important steps
toward shrugging off the sometimes crippling anxiety that has
taken root in our modern society regarding money and material
goods.
6.
Small kindnesses can have enormous impact on how others
feel. Instead of limiting your outreach to special times of year
like holidays or birthdays, reach out to family, friends, or even
strangers randomly to let them know you are thinking of them
and are sending love their way. It might be just a quick text or
voice mail. It might be a card or the gift of a visit. Perhaps it is
the gift of a smile; I am amazed at how my day changes when I
smile and speak to strangers. First, their face almost always
responds by mirroring my smile; they look like the person they
want to look likea person who is loved. Second, my own day
changes when realizing that strangers can be generous to one
another and feel a kinship simply by greeting one another with a

smile. I believe this simple act also reduces the overall amount of
stress in the world.
7.
All of the remarkably generous, generative, affluent people
I have ever known were profoundly grateful. Gratitude is the key
to being affluent. Think of the people in your past or present to
whom you are grateful. Perhaps it is the elementary school
teacher who helped you conquer your fear of talking in front of
the class. It could be your own child, who makes you laugh every
day. It may be a spouse who is always in your corner, or a parent
who nurtured and guided you even when you were at your most
difficult as a teenager. Let this lead you to think of creative
ways you might give back to your community. You could attend a
class at your local public school and give a talk about your career
choice. You could donate supplies to a day-care center. You could
serve dinner at a battered womens shelter or visit the elderly at
a retirement home. This allows kindness to continue
unobstructed, in and out like healing waters, and contributes to
the wellness of the universe. In the words of the German
theologian Meister Eckhart, If the only prayer you ever say in
your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.