A Generous Life
By Steve Gahagen
I recently joined with others in celebrating the life of a dear friend, Shari, who lived a truly remarkable and generous life. I am a first-hand witness because I have known her for thirty years. She gave her life to sowing seeds of love and generosity. She courageously fought a seventeen year battle against cancer. Ironically, that battle didn’t dampen her generous spirit, but amplified it. I believe her generous spirit was in fact a healing agent that empowered her to defy the odds for so long.
Shari's seeds of generosity touched many people, and in some cases led to defining moments that changed the direction of their story forever. She provided supplies for a school in the Philippines for twenty years. She had a special heart for the broken - most recently giving to help us invest in the lives of young people who come from difficult situations. She understood them; she had been one of those kids.
When Shari gave a gift it was as if one held a precious treasure. The gift itself was tailored for the receiver and it was wrapped with precision.
Shari’s family business prospered enabling her to be more lavishly generous in recent days. However, I knew her before that season and the same generous spirit was evident thirty years ago when we first met.
One of the best ways for us to discover and use our strengths is in service to others. At Play to Your Strengths we consistently communicate to young people that they have something to bring and the world needs them to bring it - they can make the world a better place.
Our talents are gifts given to us to serve and have a positive impact on the world. They become most powerful when we get outside of ourselves and see them as gifts to be given, both at work and in building life-giving relationships.
Questions to Consider:
How do you and/or could you, use your talents to serve and give to others, both at work and in relationships outside of work?
How have you seen generosity modeled? Who has been generous toward you?
Why is generosity life-giving to both the giver and receiver?