One day, my mom was really struggling. Bills were piling up, she needed a car and the new school year was starting and she couldn’t afford to get us new clothes. That really made her sad, but she never really let on even though we could tell it was really getting to her.
Her friend Donna used to always call her up to talk gossip and my mom would always invite her to dinner afterward. I remember one day, she called as usual to talk and suddenly my mom just started crying. Saying that everything seemed like it was coming down on her and she couldn’t bear the fact that her kids couldn’t go to school in new clothes. The thing is, growing up in rural Jamaica, she never had clothes so it was a great sense of pride to her to have her kids looking sharp on the first day of school.
Well, Donna, the lady that could barely afford to feed her children, said that she felt bad and wished she could help. Then, just like that, they hung up the phone. Donna didn’t come over that day, in fact, she didn’t come over for a few weeks. Then, one day, she came over unannounced right after we came back from church.
She had in her hand 5 or 6 bags from various department stores and they were filled with clothes for me and my sister. My mother was so happy! I mean she was like boo hooing something fierce. Almost to the point of ugly crying.
You see, broham, although my mother only got a purse out of the whole ordeal, she really got so much more. The thing about giving is that you also get. Many people think that when you give you leave a void. While that might be true, the void will always be filled with more than you ever gave up.
Who knows how much those clothes cost. I mean for all I know, the food my mom cooked over the years for Donna far surpassed the value of those clothes, but it was about more than clothes and food for both my mom and Donna. It was about helping someone that they cared about.
So I’d have you consider today that you always get back what you give out. It doesn’t always come back in the same form and sometimes, it doesn’t even come back from the same person, but you always get back more than what you put out. So if you want to be happy and truly fulfilled, give. And do it often.
Jerry “giver” Washington
P.S. I just want to be clear about one thing here. Giving is great, but it sometimes is hard when you feel like you’re being taken advantage of. There are times when that can happen, but you can’t NOT give just because you’re afraid someone will take advantage of you. To live a truly fulfilled life you have to believe in abundance, even it doesn’t seem realistic. Have faith in good and good will always come to you…Talk soon!
