Generosity Means Letting Go

At the local fabric store yesterday, i saw 2 beautiful daylily bouquets. Gayle, who was checking me out, had brought in bouquets from her garden to give to friends. Meanwhile, we customers were able to enjoy her extensive daylily collection in a vase.

I often speak about generosity on this blog because it is such an important step on our spiritual path. Generosity means letting go of something, giving with an open hand. And "letting go" is an entire spiritual exercise that we could practice every day, every hour for the rest of our lives.

But the thing i noticed, felt really, was an immediate kinship with Gayle and the other clerk at the store. Instantly we were speaking as friends speak, appreciating each other. This friendliness, also called loving-kindness, is actually all around us, if we will simply notice it.

Gayle's daylily bouquet was not only a gift for her friend, but also a gift to all the strangers (customers) who walked in the door of the fabric store. Now, there's a friend.