what it means to give
This week on the blog, we are featuring a guest contributor! This article was written by the delightful Kara J. of her blog, Keeping Up With The City. You can read more of her posts on her website and you can follow her on Instagram @keepingupwiththecity.
'Tis the season, whether it feels that way or not. Like everyone else, I truly believe 2020 was going to be "my year," (it's a new decade after all) but the pandemic had other plans. Despite the COVID-19 crisis, I'm absolutely certain that 2020 has been our year, even if that journey doesn't look the way we might have envisioned it. Sure, we have witnessed police brutality on a global scale and experienced large scale layoffs comparable to that of the Great Depression, but consider what came out of those situations. Mass political awareness, policy changes for many police departments, the push many individuals needed to commit to their dreams and become entrepreneurs or go after their dream job and these are only scratching the surface. Of course 2020 has been rough, but there is still so much to be grateful for.
As we all collectively race to Christmas and the inevitable end of 2020, let's take a moment to really put this year in perspective and remind ourselves that the holiday season is about giving. Just because the pandemic cancelled countless activities this year, giving should always be on the agenda, especially after all we've been through.
Giving puts our blessings into perspective. It reminds us that whatever challenges we have faced, we have overcome that challenge and trained ourselves for the next training opportunity life throws us. In a time when it's easy to say that everything sucks, many of us have really gone unscathed in the grand scheme of things. Don't get me wrong, losing your job is horrible, terrifying and the pervasive thoughts of how you're going to put everything back together is a real-time horror movie none of us want to star in. I've been through it. In many ways I'm still going through it, but I'm also grateful to have a community that supports me, friends that love me and parents that have helped me out of many a bind throughout my life. Not everyone has that same support system built into their lives, but we can help others find that support or opt to be a part of that system.
Giving increases our prosperity. I'm sure you have all heard some iteration of what you put out comes back to you tenfold. Giving is no different. I recently learned in a money mindset course I took this year that when we choose to believe that money is an infinite resource, we open ourselves up to the abundance of money in surprising, unimaginable ways. When we think about making donations, it can sometimes feel daunting to think about giving money when you believe those dollars will make or break your budget or ability to buy gifts for your family this holiday season. If that's truly how you feel, then find another way to help your favorite organization or choose not to donate at all. Your donation only helps if you are happy to do it. If you really want to make a monetary donation and want to get over this limiting thought around money, it helps to remind yourself that there's money where that came from. Because, after all, there is.
Giving spreads abundance. Not only for the sake of those we are helping, but for our own sake as well. We are so used to our lives looking and feeling a certain way that we have become hungry to get back to that. But, if 2020 has proven anything, it's how resilient we are and the true depth of human empathy. I believe this year was meant to be our wake up call. The moment that would push us out of our comfort zone in order to experience a new, greater way of living. And if we have been given such an opportunity, why aren't we attempting to share that energy with others? After all, when we unabashedly give ourselves permission to grow, we give others permission to do the same. Giving also has the ability to not only raise our vibration but the vibration of those we are giving to. And that doesn't have to be in the form of money. It can be in the form of our time, donating the things we don't need, or even acknowledging the existence of another human being.
Giving feels so much more important this year than in years past. A lot of us have experienced hardship, but there are just as many of us who have been blessed beyond measure. Sometimes, those groups aren't mutually exclusive. Giving comes with a heartier lesson this year: acknowledging and honoring that we have all had a hard year, but we have also been afforded so much good that should be shared with others. Give yourself permission to feel fulfilled and you will give others permission to do the same.