Gifts to the giver: a followup
A couple weeks after writing the series on giving, I was chatting with the prime mover from that series, Paul. He’s the guy who started it all off through his generosity, giving away boatloads of valuable furniture as he was downsizing.
He commented on the part about givers opening themselves up to receive — in the blog article I’d given my brother as an example — that he’d never considered that possibility before. Then he launched into a neat coda to the whole process demonstrating that principle as he told me about three recent financial windfalls.
The one that surprised him most — as it would anyone — was when an ex out of the blue sent him a check as a gift. An ex! (This is a testament to Paul’s good-hearted ways. No ex — in fact, no one — is going to lob a gift your way if you’ve been a mean-hearted scarab in your dealings.)
As Paul noted, this gift easily equaled what he might have received had he decided to sell the furniture instead.
What a grace note. He’d skipped all the hassle-time-effort it would have taken to sell off the furniture. And he’d also received quiet satisfaction in initiating a cascading series of gifts that went far beyond him.
Giving is surely one of the most rewarding ways to flow the good — to all, you included.
Posts from the giving series trilogy, in order