Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Reciprocity

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Altruism, Ego, Giving, Leo Buscaglia, Reciprocity, Saturday, Selflessness, Spiritual

The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes another’s, smile at someone and receive a smile in return, are to me continual spiritual exercises.

Leo Buscaglia

Giving, teaching, empathizing, sharing. These all involve doing something for someone else. Giving another person your time, even if it is to just listen to them. Share what you’ve learned, share your happiness, share something that is special to you. The pay back for these actions is contentment, happiness, and a warmth you can’t get from doing things for yourself.

This warmth is something that is hard to explain. It is like your heart gets warm. It permeates your whole body.

Doesn’t it feel great when you can help someone and that frown on their face turns to a smile? Maybe you’re a good listener and one of your friends needs to vent. Isn’t it great to just listen to someone vent and work things out for themselves?

Spirituality doesn’t have to be a formal religion. It doesn’t require a holy book or going to a service or meeting. It literally is nothing more than tapping into that inner part of yourself that knows what good is. It doesn’t concern itself with the petty and small ego. It gives. It gives without concern for anything in return. It gives because others need it. Nothing more.

When you give of yourself without expecting anything in return, the ego shrinks. You can’t live without an ego, but you can live with a shrunken one. Whenever you think about others more than you do yourself, the ego is put aside. This “putting aside” demonstrates that the ego is not all you. It is only a creation of you so you can survive.

I’ll stop there.

Have a great Saturday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – The Love You Give Returns

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Altruism, Charity, Giving, Goodwill, Love, Saturday, Selfless, spirituality

What is spirituality? Some folks believe it is attending church, a mosque, or a synagogue, and following the rituals associated with their religions. Others meditate and read and learn about mindfulness and themselves. Still others do the best they can for their families, contribute or take part in charities, and follow the golden rule. Based on what I’ve written here, it is what you make of it.

Spirituality, at its most simple level, is serving others. It is giving and receiving love. It is putting everything you have into something. Putting love into it. It is extending your goodwill to all. It is expressing your love for others without trying to control them or forcing them to be who you want them to be. This is a detached love. It is loving someone for who they are, nothing more. It is a love without strings attached.

When you do something selflessly for someone else, there’s a good feeling that comes with it. It’s like love leaves you and goes where you are putting your efforts. Then, that love returns to fill you right back up. The more love you give, the more you get. This universe is just that simple. It is we humans that make it hard. The human mind loves complicating things.

Have you ever decided to love someone and serve them, regardless of what they do or don’t do? It is a very selfless act. It is also hard. It’s hard to serve and love someone that does not return that love. Yet, it still comes back. The more love you give, the more you get.

Think about a dog. Dogs are selfless lovers. When you walk in the door, they are so excited to see you. When you are watching TV or reading a book or whatever, that dog is always there. Right there with you. Can you imagine how much love that dog feels? They love without regrets, without demanding something in return. This is a perfect example of selfless love. The more love you give, the more you get.

Are you in a difficult relationship? Remember how wonderful it was when you first met? Over time, little things build up. Little slights. Little trespasses. You wake up one day and things aren’t right anymore. How do you get it back? You guessed it. Love your partner. Love them. Serve them. Expect nothing. Don’t fix them. Let them be who they are. The more love you give, the more you get.

The more love you give, the more you get.

Have a great Saturday, folks.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday

Tags

Altruism, Asking the Question, Helping Others, Service

“By asking, you have reached out and taken the initiative—a first step that will lead you to the next answer.”—Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

Are you stuck? Are you facing a challenge or difficulty that you just don’t know how to solve?

Take a few moments, close your eyes, and be quiet for a moment. Take a few deep breaths and focus on your breathing. Once you have settled down a bit, ask the question you have. Take a few more deep breaths and focus on your breathing. If the answer comes, write it down. If not, let go of your question and go about your day. Use this exercise a few times over the next week or so, paying attention to any intuitive thoughts that come through. Write them down.

The answers to your questions are out there. In conjunction with the above exercise, pay attention to the things you hear and the things you see. No idea is a bad one, always write them down.

Once you have collected a few items on your list begin to go through each one to see if it will help you solve your problem. Put a star next to or highlight the ideas you have received that may contribute to solving your problem.

It is important that you write down each idea that comes to you. Some of the ideas you will receive may not make any sense initially but give it time. Once you receive your answer, take your time to put together a plan, using the answer as a way of developing your plan. Once your plan is in place—execute.

This may seem like witchcraft or some weird metaphysical trick, but it works. We are all connected. Someone in the universe has had the same problem you have. Reach out for answers they will come. Just remember the importance of each idea. Do not discount any of them, regardless of how ridiculous they may appear at first.

I believe we are all here in this reality to learn. We are here to learn about ourselves and become self-sufficient beings. It is important to become self-sufficient so you can be able to better serve others. Service is the key to all we are about. Serving others is about making another person’s life just a little easier, but don’t infringe. Help people when they ask, serve people by doing the little things. This service will pay HUGE dividends. Altruism is not self-sacrificing, it is self-building.

Happy hump day!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday

Tags

Acts of Kindness, Altruism, Happiness, Love, Random Acts of Kindness, Selflessness

Before you can improve your life and find a measure of happiness, you must learn to do one thing every day out of pure love. That means, don’t expect anything in return—neither thanks nor happiness. Pick that occasion carefully. Then, whatever that one act of giving of yourself to someone else is, do it with all your heart. —Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

This is harder than it looks, particularly when we are mired in the busyness of life. If you purposefully try to plan something to do it becomes much easier.

The thing you choose can be as simple as cleaning up around the house for your loved one or making them a meal. Perhaps it is helping someone when they need help.

These little acts of kindness are beneficial because they focus your attention on something other than yourself. When you are acting in this way, something occurs. I always feel a sense of contentment. It isn’t an egotistical feeling, but one of satisfaction, so to speak.

One website that can give you some great ideas for these little acts of kindness is https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/

This website has collections of little things you can do for your neighborhood, your loved ones, anybody. I try to select at least one thing I can do daily that is simple but interesting to me. Something like telling a server at your favorite restaurant how well they did. You can pay it forward, by paying more for your coffee and telling the person taking your order to apply the difference to the next customer’s bill.

Visit this site to get a whole collection of ideas and stories of what others have done to make their world a better place.

There’s another quote by the late Paul Twitchell. It is: “To get love, you have to give it.” (paraphrased) This relates to what I am offering in this week’s wisdom posting. The more love you give out the more you get.

I hope all of you have a safe, happy, and relaxing weekend.

Until next time…

Dave