27th of February

“I wish you all the joy that you can wish.”

- William Shakespeare (from Merchant of Venice)

As a child, I was frequently told that “You can only keep it by giving it away” and “Those who have the hardest time accepting a gift or compliment, generally are not in the habit of giving them.” This Shakespeare quote reminds of these other two... though they are all slightly different in focus, they get at the same thing: giving of yourself. 

If I possess some quality or advantage and I don't share it, or make use of it, then it will likely wither (see Ebenezer Scrooge as extreme example). If I do share it, or give it away, then paradoxically, it will grow (see MLK, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and those that give  generously who are closer to home, as above). Don't know why this works exactly, but it does. It is why charitable people generally seem to be happy people, I think... it is not that they are innately happy, and as a result are charitable, it's that they derive happiness from helping others. 

I think most of us hear, as children, that it is 'better to give than receive', or some such maxim. It is a point well worth revisiting, regularly. Not just for the happy/good/joy that you will feel, though that is excellent, but also for the good that it does other people. This may be true of material gifts and or financial help, but it is especially true of the less tangible gifts one can give: Love, Joy, Assurance... even a smile can do some good. 

Before I devolve into total cheesiness, I will stop. Practice magnanimity, which at its most basic level means 'generosity', but if more literally translated from its Latin roots, means 'greatness of spirit'. Seems, to me, to be the way to go.

the Keeper (word to think about/keep with me for a bit): 

“Magnanimity” - n. 1.) the quality of being very generous, especially toward a rival or someone less powerful than oneself. 2.) the quality of forgiving easily. 

I wish you all the joy you can wish. I hope you are in the frame of mind to wish a lot of joy...