Have you ever observed that people who have less tend to give out more. It takes some great event or episode for someone who has more to start giving. Most of the time we see rich folks getting into the habit of hoarding. More is never enough for them. The Joy of giving is simple and yet full of mystery, let’s discuss.
Understanding the concept of giving
The joy of giving is associated with giving out that which is precious. Small things that are close to your heart. Giving comes from your soul knowing that God is pleased with you. That’s why giving is associated with religion all around the world. But giving is not always about religion. We do that unconsciously many times in a day. What a mother does to her child is the joy of giving and that goes on for many many years. Another example that comes to mind is when you host guests at your place. Perfect example of joy of giving at work.
Giving is part of human values which originate when people started staying together in groups as a community. A lot of tasks assigned to the community are done by the people who experience the joy of giving while doing them. So at the end of the day you are happy about your contribution to society. When humans moved out of caves and started agriculture, we started settling down near water sources or river banks. Those settlements and agriculture was again a community effort. Finally when humans started migrating, they did so in groups. The joy of giving is hard coded in our DNA as part of our evolution.
But what is that one feeling which comes with giving? It is joy or happiness. Happiness hits your soul like an aphrodisiac. Generosity creates a feeling of wellbeing which washes all over your body like a wave. Imagine someone surrounded with lots of problems in life. Nothing seems working around you and that is the time when you give something out of generosity. The happiness that comes with this is priceless. An act of generosity can be as simple as smiling to someone or saying a word of appreciation to helping a stray animal, complimenting someone, lending a shoulder to cry, being a patient listener or showing the right path to someone.
Happiness comes with its separate set of benefits. You can sleep better, happiness helps your mind to forget more of your problems and happiness can help lower blood pressure levels as well. Not as strong as any medicine but equally good in small doses.
In contrast, receiving happiness or gifts is short-lived. You will get happy, but the feeling will reduce quickly. Also the act of receiving if repeated again and again will give reduced happiness after each cycle. Take the example of a birthday party. As kids we are super excited and looking forward to our birthday each year. But as we grow into adults, the joy of receiving compliments and gifts diminishes till it comes to nil and that’s when we stop throwing those big parties.
The Joy of Giving Week By Yatan NGO
Every year between 2nd Oct and 8th Oct, we celebrate the Joy of Giving Week by following these steps.
- Offer Contributions – The joy of giving contributions comes from contributing your time and efforts for the ongoing projects of Yatan.
- Join our initiatives – The joy of participating in our organized events as volunteers whether it is a fund raiser or awareness drive.
- Spread the word – The joy of spreading the word about our initiatives and the work we do either by telling others or by sharing our content on social media to encourage people to contribute and participate.
- Organize an Event or a Drive – The joy of organizing an event or a specific drive like a donation drive or a fundraiser in your community to support our cause.
- Engage in Acts of Kindness – The joy of performing small acts of kindness in alignment with the mission and values of Yatan NGO and share your experiences to inspire others.
