Generous Minds are Kind

Have you ever heard some say they were generous with their hatred? The very idea strike you as odd and out of place. We are generous with smiles not frowns; laughs not scowls; favors not slights.

The word generous has kindness baked into it, and therefore, hate has no place in its practice. The Latin root is "generosus" which means magnanimous and Google defines generosity as "the quality of being kind and generous."

So when we talk about being a Generous Mind, we are assuming kindness, gentleness, joy, peace and so on. These are prerequisites for the discipline of a Generous Mind.

"Why is this so important to verbalize? Isn't this obvious?" you ask. Well, no. We are a living in a time where people are being very free with what is on their mind, but it is not generosity. It is angry, disturbed, vindictive, untruthful and malicious. And the scary part is that many people think they are doing the world a service. But instead they are spreading the disease of dissent and hurting those around them in irreparable ways. They think they are being generous but they have not realized that their actions can never be considered generous because they lack human compassion and love.

Some argue that "The truth hurts." and advocate for tough love in these troubled times. Let's all stand up for courageous truth, but let's not be mistaken about what form it must take. If it is not fundamentally shared out of love and kindness towards others it is akin to a virus spreading and attacking its prey.

But how do we prepare our hearts to be generous givers rather than stealthy attackers? I recently found this simple prayer offered by Pope Francis on #WorldCommunicationsDay 2018 (January). This prayer is an amazing preparation for your day as a Generous Mind.