Today I turn 29! 🎉 And despite this nagging temptation I keep feeling to overanalyze all of my life-decisions (to see if they “qualify” for an “almost-30-year-old”) this one Proverb keeps persistently repeating in my mind: “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” •
I think sometimes we miss life’s most precious moments, preoccupied with trying to improve ourselves. We become increasingly introspective, and our world becomes very tiny and laser focused—on us and our own imperfections. And we spend as much energy and time as we can on “self-improvement”, in hopes that being “better” will make our lives “better” too.
Yet all the while, the same truth remains, that the refreshing of others—the generosity and focus we display towards those around us, is actually what will ultimately bring refreshment to our own soul. •
Giving to others centers us in the current moment in time. When we are willing to expand our world a little to make room for the person in front of us, life’s pressures suddenly feel a little lighter. Because now, the world becomes about me AND my neighbor. Therefore, MY shortcomings or even talents and successes, aren’t all that is transpiring on planet earth. And I can grasp reality a little tighter—knowing that there is more to life, more to mankind, more to all of human history, than just my story.
And it’s here, I begin to really “love my neighbor as I love myself.” Because I realize the world is full of other people just as important to this human story as I am. And it all started with an act of generosity or encouragement.
So, I guess I can say that in my 29th year, I hope to become increasingly generous. That I would become more of a joy and a comfort and an encouragement to those around me. Knowing that even as I refresh others, I myself will be refreshed
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