Sunday, February 17, 2008

Thoughts on Generosity - Paying it Forward

More from Change Your Thoughts-Change your Life by Wayne Dyer...

I've been enjoying this book by Wayne Dyer which analyzes various verses of the Tao. This passage is an excerpt from the 19th verse which Dyer defines as "Living Without Attachment."

"Let go of evaluating yourself on the basis of how much you've accumulated and what is in your financial portfolio. Stop putting a dollar value on all that you have and do. Let go of your need to get a "good deal" and choose instead to be a being of sharing. You'll be happily surprised by how nice it feels to simply change your belief that you're only successful if you're making money. The less you focus on making a profit--instead shifting your energy to living your purpose in harmony with everyone else--the more money will flow to you and the more opportunities for generosity will be available to you."

My goal for today is to live in harmony with everyone else and to practice generosity. And, how does this all fit into the frugal lifestyle? The sentence "Let go of your need to get a 'good deal' and choose instead to be a being of sharing," in fact, seems to fly against the frugal philosophy but I think they can be reconciled. I think that in this sentence Dyer is implying that in getting a good deal, one is trying to best someone else rather than share the wealth. So, he's saying be generous in a deal so that both parties benefits. Also, one of the precepts of being frugal is decluttering your life. So, if I can declutter and give stuff away to others who need it, then that is one way to meet my goals.

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