Generosity
lives in the gift of presence
Happy Spring dear Friend, and Happy Easter,
If you are on an egg hunt today, I hope it’s colourful and abundant.
I missed this community last week, but had the opportunity to travel to Nova Scotia and love up my sons and youngest grandson. The time required/deserved all of me. Now I am back in Toronto, and other than yesterday, winter is not quite over. Sigh..
As I am nearing the end of the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings, one of the questions on the final forms to submit, asks if struggling with personal challenges was the motivation towards practice. Trauma, addiction, and mental health were examples given. If so, how I have practiced with them?
At first, I didn’t identify with being motivated by personal challenges, as I have always felt incredibly blessed in life, no matter what. Then I pondered a little longer and laughed.
Life has brought its share of thresholds; near-death experiences, recovery from car crashes, breast cancer, and loss. Each one cracked me open in ways I couldn’t have imagined. Raising three children as a self-employed artist added its own beautiful, relentless rhythm; where a constant dance of trust, creativity, and resilience were mandatory.
In those years, survival wasn’t abstract. It was real, daily, and demanded everything. And in that intensity, I learned where the edges were, and how easy it is to fall into the cracks if you’re not paying attention.
Overworking can also lead to burnout, with residue of lingering anxiety, moments of panic or a collapse into depression. At any of those crossroads, the choice becomes clear. Numb out, or open up. I’m deeply grateful for all the time I chose to open. And extra grateful for the openness that makes remaining present paramount. It painted clearly the degree of generosity that is available to us all.
That’s where practice became essential. Not as escape, but as a return. Return to the breath, to stillness, and to the truth that even in pain, there can be peace.
Return to the present, because if that’s where life is, that’s where love is.
And in that return, I could begin to see that generosity is woven into every moment; the support, the kindness, the quiet miracles that held me when I couldn’t hold myself.
My greatest efforts in practice has been about staying open, even when it hurts. About trusting that the heart, when tended, can hold both sorrow and joy. And about remembering, again and again, that we are never as alone as we fear.
In the Fourteen Mindfulness Training, the thirteenth training is on generosity.
We often think of generosity as giving money, time, or things. But true generosity begins before the act. It starts in the mind with the intention not to take too much, not to exploit, hoard, or turn away.
Generosity is offered in presence. It’s seeing the person behind the counter, not just the transaction. It’s noticing the tree on your walk, not as scenery, but as life, giving you air, shade, and song.
And it can be resistance, as a quiet “no” to systems that profit from suffering, and a soft “yes” to sharing what we have, however small. Because generosity isn’t about how much we give, it’s about how much we care. It’s the pause before you speak sharply. The time you give to listen, even when you’re tired. And it’s not just for people, it’s for the soil that grows our food, the water that flows through our bodies, and the silence that lets us remember who we are.
When I crawl into bed at night and recall the highlights of the day, it is almost always riddled in generosity. Reciprocity is a cycle of being alive, so participating in the presence within giving and taking, is itself a dance of generosity.
Generosity can be the thousand small ways we let other’s know they matter, that we matter, and life matters. And in that, healing can take place - not just with others, but ourselves.
Generosity can also be measured by what we release. The act of giving creates an inner shift, where there is a window of time to let go of fear, of scarcity, of the need to hold on.
Have you had any of these experiences? Where a barista who hands you your coffee with a smile, says “Hope your day is a sweet one.” • Have you had a stranger hold the door for you, just as your arms are full. • A friend who brings you a bowl of soup when you’re unwell, or listens, really listens, without rushing to fix anything. • On a stressed out highway, a driver slows down and waves you into traffic, giving you space. • A person lets you go ahead in line when you only have one item. • A child offering you a flower, picked just because. • The silence of someone who sits with you when you’re sad, and no words are needed. Each one is a gift.
Receiving them with openness? That’s how we keep the circle alive.
Mindful Necessities website is finally up again. I am hoping it will become a place to read about contemplative travel, and you feel the invite to join me for workshops, retreats and pilgrimages.
The current retreat to Ireland in May is full, but if you are interested in being on a cancellation list, email me here visit: https://www.mindfulnecessities.com/ for more info.
I am starting to lay the bones down for a two week pilgrimage to Japan for next year. Again, reach out if you would like to hear more of that development.
Until next time I wish you the best week ever.
From Toronto with love, a bow and a smile,
Gisele
Such a wonderful and thoughtful discussion of generosity- thanks for taking it to new places. 🥰 I couldn’t agree more. A generous spirit is felt in each encounter…it’s a quality of presence as much as it’s about the act of giving.