The Season of Giving

 

There are those who give little of the much which they have - and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.

And there are those who have little and give it all.  These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.

There are those who give with joy and that joy is their reward.

And there are those who give with pain and that pain is their baptism.

And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;  they give as if in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.  

Through the hands of such as these, God speaks and from behind their eyes, He smiles upon the earth.

It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding.

And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving.

And is there aught that you would withhold?

All you have will some day be given;

Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors.

("The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran)