Give and Take

The holiday season is past us and here we are again at the beginning of another year. 

Just think, what you do today, will be part of what you will be reflecting back on eleven and a half months from now!

 

Now that we’ve survived the major gift giving season, I felt compelled to write a blog about it all.  Every year my family and I have a discussion about not making the presents our focus, and yet every year we still kind of do.

 

I recently heard a speaker who kept referring to us (the general public) as “consumers.”  The more he said it, the more I got offended.

 

I understand that economically that is what we are.  But I kept getting put off by the idea that he was saying it as if it was our identity. We are consumers.  How offensive.

 

I couldn’t shake the idea that a consumer was one who just took and took and took – and gave nothing back.  Frankly, I just don’t want to be that guy.

 

So in the spirit of a new year, I want to remind as many people as I can that we are more than consumers.  Or should I say we have the capacity to be more than consumers.

 

Every time you buy something, a good question to ask is “what are you giving back?”  You could be at the grocery store and all you have to give back is a smile or a kind word.  What an amazing world we all create if every time we thought about “consuming” we would also think about giving.

 

Generosity and thoughtful actions are the antidote to being just consumers.  2010 could prove to be the year where the world in which we live needs way more givers than consumers.  Give with your resources, give with your time, or give with your words – but give something.

 

We live in a world that doesn’t esteem giving so much anymore – which is primarily why we are now just “consumers.”   I understand that to keep our economy going in the right direction we need to consume, but I can’t understand why we couldn’t adopt enough awareness, to give of ourselves with equal fervor. 

 

Make 2010 the greatest giving year of your life.  Do that well, and it will be a great year!

Comments

[Mike Hole]

"We live in a world that doesn’t esteem giving so much anymore"...

I disagree ~ we esteem givers very highly, but evidence of giving doesn't surround us like evidence of consumers.

During Thanksgiving & Christmas opportunity abounds for giving. The magic in giving is to find those opportunities the rest of the year. So yes "Give with your resources, give with your time, or give with your words – but give something ... and make it the greatest giving year of your life".

Well said Steve.

[Dan Foster]

Great post Steve. It so easy to "give" and so often we forget that a kind word, a pat on the back, or just a simple smile can be so impactful on people's lives.