Generosity

GenerosityThe Buddha said

that if we understood the power of generosity as deeply as he did, we would never sit down to a meal without sharing it.

DefinitionGenerosity is giving of

one’s self through either spirit, time, money, or anything else to someone who is in need.

Synonyms: magnanimity, lavishness, openhandedness, unselfishness, kindness, charity, goodness

Etymology“The modern English

word ‘generosity’ derives from the Latin word generōsus, which means ‘of noble birth,’ which itself was passed down to English through the Old French word genereu.”

(University of Notre Dame, 2014)

EtymologyGenerosity came

increasingly to identify with various admirable qualities that could now vary from person to person, depending not on family history but on whether a person actually possessed the qualities.

(University of Notre Dame, 2014)

Generosity StudyEstablished in 2009

with a $5 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation.

Notre Dame research group conducting interviews around the country in order to understand why some people practice generosity and others don’t.

(University of Notre Dame, 2014)

http://generosityresearch.nd.edu/more-about-the-initiative/what-is-generosity/

Generosity Study

Generosity StudyHow

interdisciplinary research is helping drive the questions behind “why are people generous?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lsenpo7G1U

Generosity StudyWhat makes people

generous? Why would someone go to the Red Cross and let someone put a needle in their arm?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVsPUKSKW8k

Generosity of Wealth Bill Gates

“It doesn’t relate to any particular religion; it’s about human dignity and equality,” he says. “The golden rule that all lives have equal value and we should treat people as we would like to be treated.”

“I’m certainly well taken care of in terms of food and clothes,” he says, redundantly. “Money has no utility to me beyond a certain point. Its utility is entirely in building an organization and getting the resources out to the poorest in the world.”

(Tweedie, 2013)

Generosity of WealthWarren BuffettBuffett has committed

that his entire Berkshire Hathaway holding, north of $58 billion, will be donated before or at his death, with a further mandate that it will be put to use within ten years of the latter.

(Lane, 2013)

African ProverbYou don't give

someone a goat for a gift and still hold on to the rope.

Generosity of Spirit/TimeAfter a devastating fire in

2011, Jenn Leary formed her organization and teamed up with the local chapter of the American Red Cross.

Now, whenever the Red Cross responds to a disaster and discovers that an animal is involved, they call Leary. She believes it's the only partnership of its kind in the United States -- one she hopes to replicate in other cities.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/10/us/cnnheroes-leary/

Generosity of Spirit/TimeMaya Angelou on

Nelson Mandela’s amazing generosity despite being jailed for 27 years –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z39aNGSXbyI

“People tend to measure themselves by external accomplishments, but jail allows a person to focus on internal ones; such as honesty, sincerity, simplicity, humility, generosity and an absence of variety.  You learn to look into yourself.” Nelson Mandela

Learning Generosity Kids

Just talk about it. Use the course of a year to introduce kids to

opportunities. That way, they won’t be shocked when you ask them to stuff their own money into an envelope.

Give children a small amount of money on a regular basis, then teach them to save some, spend some and give some away.

Pick a family charity for the year and have a conversation about how you all can help throughout the year.

Think of this not as something you must teach, but as something to expose them to.

(Joyce, 2013)

Generosity in Poetry Then said a rich man, "Speak to us of Giving." And he answered: You give but little when you give of your

possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. For what are your possessions but things you

keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?

And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?

And what is fear of need but need itself? Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, thirst

that is unquenchable?

There are those who give little of the much which they have - and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.

And there are those who have little and give it all. These are the believers in life and the bounty of life,

and their coffer is never empty. There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their

reward. And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is

their baptism. And there are those who give and know not pain in

giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;

They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.

Though the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.

Poetry Cont. . . It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked,

through understanding; And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive

is joy greater than giving And is there aught you would withhold? All you have shall some day be given; Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours

and not your inheritors'. You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving." The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your

pasture. They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish. Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is

worthy of all else from you. And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life

deserves to fill his cup from your little stream. And what desert greater shall there be than that which lies in

the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?

And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?

See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.

For in truth it is life that gives unto life - while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.

And you receivers - and you are all receivers - assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.

Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;

For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father.

---Khalil Gabron

Generosity in MoviesTo see generosity in

action, the movie “The Blind Side” epitomizes what it means to give to someone in need.

Sandra Bullock won an Oscar for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy.

Generosity in BooksThe Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TZCP6OqRlE

Generosity Quotes“That's what I consider true

generosity: You give your all, and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing.” ― Simone de Beauvoir

“Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.” ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“The wise man does not lay up his own treasures.The more he gives to others,the more he has for his own.” ― Lao Tzu

Joyce, A., November 21, 2013. How to help a young child learn generosity. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/on-parenting/how-to-help-a-young-child-learn-generosity/2013/11/21/ea55bfa2-514f-11e3-9e2c-e1d01116fd98_story.html

Lane, R., Dec 2, 2013. Forbes.com, The 50 Philanthropists Who Have Given Away The Most Money. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2013/11/18/the-50-philanthropists-who-have-given-away-the-most-money/

University of Notre Dame 2014, College of Arts and Letters. The Science of Generosity. Retrieved from http://generosityresearch.nd.edu

Toner, K., April 10, 2014, Former firefighter rescues pets in disasters. www.cnn.com.

Tweedie, N., January 18, 2013. Bill Gates interview: I have no use for money. This is God’s work. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/bill-gates/9812672/Bill-Gates-interview-I-have-no-use-for-money.-This-is-Gods-work.html

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