Generosity

In these days of widespread, rampant narcissism, generosity is a virtue that just shines. Generosity is a form of love. Though it can be faked, in its pure form it is guileless. To receive it is to feel blessed and loved. The proper response is gratitude. It is rare because it can only come from a generous heart. In some sense it is true altruism. Generosity expresses, without expectation of gain, love and joy at just sharing.

Here is an example. I visited my brother recently in Louisville, Kentucky. His life is busy. He is a retired university professor with an entrepreneurial business of great import and creativity which demands every ounce of attention that he can muster for it. His partners, all internet linked, correspond and meet with him constantly through instant message and phone conference. His spouse, also a university prof, is frantically busy and engaged in a heavy teaching schedule and publication deadlines.

In the middle of this busy life, my brother finds the time to tend, long distance, to the needs of three children in their early twenties who are trying to find their careers and their future. He takes care of our mother, now 87 and just arrived at the time for assisted living in a "memory wing" at the local Episcopal Home. She has been suffering from Alzheimer symptoms for years, of course, and Mark has been by her side, doing her laundry, attending to her errand needs, picking her up and patching her up after many, many falls.

So here I am, in one of my occasional visits to this beloved man to see my mother's new digs, on the last night of a short visit. His wife and I and their two cats and a dog are enjoying our last hours together and Mark turns on his everpresent laptop and begins to share his favorite sixties and seventies songs with me through a headset. Since we can't both use it, he starts tune after tune, and puts the headset on me so I can enjoy the song. Then he and his lovely wife dance to the severely muted bits of music that leak out around the headset I'm wearing into the room. I hear the music and see the dance. They enjoy my joy in the experience, but can't hear the music well. I was deeply touched by this act of love expressed in their generosity. It is apparent that my brother is about generosity in so many, many ways. He inspired me, again. His wife took photos which I look forward to seeing later. I love him, I love them all, so.