Midweek Pause: Giving

© 2015 Margaret Adie

“According to Buddhism, true giving involves the awareness that there is no giver, no gift, and no receiver. Attachments of any kind—whether it be to self as the benefactor, the value of the gift, or the acknowledgment by the receiver—nullify the pure act of giving.”

— Taitetsu Unno,”Three Grapefruits”

Consider: the magnitude, yet the simplicity, of this statement.  To give without attachment or identity, hmm, that is a lot to wrap your brain around, and yet it’s not.

It is actually all the story we weave into the gifts we give, whether they be tangible or of our time that make it complicated. The dialogue in our head about what we might get in exchange, how this gift might make us feel better as a person or change our status—this is what is complicated and weighty.  If the giving is truly out of love, pure love, then we are available to be who we are, as is the receiver, and both may respond in their own truthful way.

So what does living in this mindful way of existence feel like?  Free, it feels like being free. And our willingness to live like this has a ripple effect on all the lives we touch.

Do: consider shifting today into this sense of freedom, placing no attachment on your time or the gifts you give those whose lives you touch. This unattached gift giving could look like making a cup of tea for your office mate, preparing a special meal for your family, or bringing something from your garden to your neighbor. Give whatever you give with love and let both of you in the exchange experience the lightness and freedom.