Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Week 15 for Juliet: Secret Acts of Virtue

Exercise:  Each day for a week, engage in a secret act of virtue or kindness.  Do something nice or needed for others, but do so anonymously.  These acts can be simple, like washing someone else’s dishes, picking up trash, making an anonymous donation, or leaving chocolate on a co-worker’s desk.

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill

I have long held the belief that when we give something away, whether it is a material thing, or our time or energy, we are the ones that receive the greatest benefit.  When I give something away anonymously I usually feel a rush of pleasure.  For me, the key to this feeling is intention.  This feeling only happens when I make the giving from a place of offering rather than from a place of obligation.  For example, washing someone’s dishes does not feel like an act of virtue to me, but rather an unpleasant daily chore.  Maybe this is a place for some more spiritual growth!

While I did all of these suggested acts of virtue this week, (leaving soup rather than chocolate on a co-worker’s desk) and enjoyed the rush of pleasure of giving something away, what I more keenly noticed was how many of these acts of virtue were performed for me.  I noticed my husband washing the blender out for me after I made my morning smoothie so I have more time to get ready for work.  I noticed my son, helping me carry trash out without being asked to.  I said a silent thank you to the anonymous person who made space for me to pull out into busy traffic.  I felt a warm rush of connection to the woman at Trader Joe’s who stopped to give me a compliment.  All these many small kindnesses that I received over the week that made my heart burst open with gratitude and love.

This exercise reminds me that each of us are in this constant game of exchange with each other that we call relationship.  May we give as good as we get.

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