The gift of generosity... your thought for the day.

Raising a generous family starts with making a personal commitment to be generous. A common misconception about giving is that it needs to be material. Even when you don’t have a lot of start with, here are ways you can learn to embrace a habit of giving:

• Give time. This starts with your family and your friends and the practice will gradually catch on. You do not have to spend a fortune to give everyone quality bonding moments. All you need is time, and the rest is up to your creativity. Take the time to help an elderly cross the stress, or a stranger carry heavy grocery bags.
• Give talent. When you’re good at a skill or two, offer help in any way you can. Again, this is beyond material. You excel at math, and a colleague struggles with it – sit down and give him or her tips that you find work for you.
• Give kindness. Never choose who you want to give to. A random act of kindness could be anything under the sun – as long as you keep in mind the welfare of others instead of yourself.
• Give love.  A smile is an act of love, even for strangers. Being patient with people who are different is love. Learning to appreciate people beyond what’s skin deep is love.