What we’ve come to think of as sharing tends to be the detailing loads of intimate information.
We try to teach our littles to share. Let Timmy play with your toy, Sally.
But as we get older, we’re often not so good at letting others play with our toys. (I had to stop and look this up. This sentence should read: as we become more affluent we’re often not to good at letting others play with our toys. What I was really interested in in this part is that rich people who live in economically diverse communities give more… We notice our neighbors.)
So then I looked up volunteering. Americans do it; but even those numbers are wonky.
And the clubs we join these days are not communal clubs but health clubs. We get our exercise alone… We don’t join fraternal organizations as frequently, even though there are more of them.
December and the Holidays are when people do think about others a bit more… but sharing with others, not just our resources, but also our hearts is something we need to do all year long. We don’t need to do this simply for our neighbors or our community, we need to do it because it fulfills us — and because we have so much. Everyone becomes more generous when someone models sharing… It changes the world. Softens it and enriches it.
Sharing helps us understand another’s view point, to see new possibilities.
Life is so much fuller when we share. We begin to Love people for who they are and how they think and live. We need to share because that makes Peace more possible. By any measure, that’s a good thing!
Alternative Advent – December 19: 5¢ for every window in your house.
