This month it is all about SHARING and PAT is here to share her thoughts on the subject...
From the time we start to understand concepts, our parents teach us to share - share with our brothers, our sisters, our friends, our classmates. Sharing was a quality to be strengthened. If you didn’t share, you were looked upon as selfish and immature.
I have tried to live by the qualities my parents instilled in me and my sisters. I even went so far one year as to “move” over a box of Girl Scout cookies I had sold so that (Jean) another girl who was just two boxes shy of my total could share in winning the “grand prize” with me (It was a Kodak Instamatic, my first real camera).
Throughout life, I have shared my money, my groceries, my car, even my house. My husband used to laugh at what he called my habit of “bringing home strays,” only I brought home stray people, not pets! This habit brought us many adventures, many life lessons, a multicultural perspective and an international friendship that is still going strong, having been passed down to my kids. In fact, Tio Tony, who at 18 was one of my “strays,” flew up from Mexico with his wife so that he could stand with my son as his sponsor when he was Confirmed. I was never so proud as when Tony told me that when it came time to look for a wife, he used his mother and me as his examples of the type of woman with whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life.
If sharing doesn’t come easy to you, think of last month’s theme on the Path of Positivity- Happiness. I believe that theme segues smoothly into this month’s theme of SHARING. It is easy to share happiness by giving up a smile, a compliment, a joke, a handmade card. This doesn’t cost a penny, yet you may feel a flush of pleasure immediately. If not, you won’t have to wait long. The universe moves towards maintaining balance, so what you give to others eventually comes back to you. In fact, if you want to multiply the things in your life that matter—health, balance, happiness—you need to share what you already have!
Really! Just try it! Take that $2 you were planning to buy your diet Coke with and stuff it into the Juvenile Diabetes fundraising can. You’ll end up with the same or more money sooner than you realize, and get a bonus of “good feels” along the way. Think of it as paying it forward. If you believe that something good is coming your way, pave its path by doing something good for others before it happens. Not only have you smoothed the way for another person’s path in life, you’ll have made your own path easier to walk. You may even find a spring in your step you hadn’t had before.
Just think, if we shared justice, good fortune, opportunities, tolerance and love with others; if everyone shared, we could cure famine, wipe out homelessness and unemployment—dare I say it -- even put an end to wars!! All from very small acts of sharing that multiply progressively. Think of the Path we could walk on together!! Mind-blowing, isn’t it? And what a wonderful world we would encounter at the end of our journeys!
Well folks, that is it for today but please be sure to stop by again on Monday evening when we post the midway for Challenge #28.
May you share a little bit of yourself each day and may your blessings be returned to you ten fold!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!
With 3 brothers younger than myself I learned early in life to share. I don't think It was taught to me. I think it came from having a younger brother before I was one years old. I have shared whatever I had as a child into adulthood with my brothers until I left home and even afterwards when I could. There was one time I did not share. My youngest brother and I share this memory. He is 8 1/2 years younger than me. I never ate a candy bar without sharing it. Usually one bite is all I got. One day I bought a snickers candy bar. I thought, "I am going to eat it before anyone gets home." I was so sick for 3 days after eating that candy bar. It does not pay to be selfish. To this day I think of that whenever I get ready to have any candy. It pays to share in life no matter the occasion. Sometimes sharing does bring about new friends. Even sharing a smile may encourage a stranger and help them through a hard day. Edwina Brown
ReplyDeleteSharing is so much a part of all of our lives! Every time we post, we share a part of ourselves. We share our ideas, techniques, stories, and inspirations. Thanks to all who share here at Path of Positivity so we can all learn and enjoy!
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