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The other night after dinner, my oldest told me, “I am glad Michael and Kelvin got to stay for dinner. It is late, their mom is at work, so they probably would not have had dinner.” They were beautiful words coming out of the mouth of my 11-year-old.
I agreed with him but tried not to make a big deal out of it. True generosity is humble and quiet and I wanted him to learn that too.
Generosity is not something you can teach by talks; it is something you have to live and show. I don’t have much. Enough, but by no means much. I didn’t grow up with much, either but through the lessons I learned from my mom and relatives, I learned that only thing you need be generous is to have the disposition and willingness to help others whenever you can.
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I remember back in college running into my old roommate just outside the bank. He was crying, as he walked away from the ATM machine. I was on my way to work my crappy fast food job and literary had 50 dollars to my name. It was my first summer staying at college instead of going home back to Puerto Rico. I had already lived in three different apartments and any money I was making was going to pay for rent. Brian and I weren’t friends, but having lived with the guy when I first got to college, we had bonded.
I approached Brian and asked him what was going on. He explained that he had just tried to take money out of his bank account but there was none. The kid was upset, crying and frustrated. Without hesitation, I pulled out what little money I had in my wallet, which was the only money I had, and gave it to him. He tried to refuse accepting it, but I told him I could get food at work and my rent was paid, so he should have it. I still remember how his energy changed, the relief in his eyes even at the small amount of money I gave him.
I must admit I felt proud or myself. My upbringing led me to making that decision without hesitation. There was true joy in helping a fellow human in need. We have all needed help at one point or another in life, not only financially, but emotionally, mentally or just something as trivial as moving a couch. Many people have helped me in my life so I make sure I pay it forward exponentially. I show and live by that mantra, that if you need the shirt off of my back, I will give it to you, and I make sure my boys see, learn, and live that.
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I can already see the selflessness and generosity in my boys through their action and the things they say. They are generous with their possessions, with their attention and their love. Being generous is not only about giving material things, sometimes a loving hug is the most generous thing you can give another person, being there for them when they need emotional support. My sons see that in my action and are already emulating it and that makes me incredibly proud.
I have heard the saying “How do you change the world? One act of kindness at a time.” Being generous goes hand in hand with kindness, but I alone cannot change the world. Maybe the three of us, and their children, and their children’s children, through our collective action of generosity, whether is feeding a hungry friend, or standing next to someone through a tough time, maybe with all of our combined actions we can just make this sometimes ugly world, a little better place.
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An earlier version of this post was published on GetConnectDad.com; this version is published here with the author’s permission.
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Related video: Passenger on public transit gives a man the shirt off of his back.
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Photo credit: Pixabay