If you haven’t noticed, the act of giving is awesome.
Fortunately,there are limitless ways &reasons
to bestow your generosity to someone special. While it is always fun watching the
recipient’s reaction to your gift choice, the recipient is but one of a few who
benefit when gifts for good are given.
Giving lifts the spirits of the giver and the recipient
by nourishing each at their most base level – a level most often referenced as
‘the soul.’Soul benefits are most profound when the gifts have been sourced/produced
by social enterprise operations and nonprofit organizations serving the needs
of the most underrepresented populations across the globe.
Gift giving is a powerful way to learn how to
show and receive appreciation – a form of gratitude experienced when you allow
your conscious awareness to touch the good will and value inherent inanaltruistic
(selfless concern) act of giving. [Note – this requires a willingness to
explore that which is beyond the ego’s constant, never-satisfied nature.]
Giving gently forges
human bonds and strengthens the unspoken connections between and among people,
independent of their national origin, age, or life purpose. When selecting a meaningful gift –the gift of your beaming smile, your valuable time, holding the door for
someone, preparing a meal, baking a birthday cake, or implementing an ode to
the environment, everyone benefits from this thoughtful and meaningful act.
Here
are four benefits offered to the gift giver alone!
It
Offers An Endorphin Boost
Most people have
experienced the joy of watching someone’s face light up as they opened a gift.
The reality is part of the joy is likely attributed to the release of tiny
neurochemicals – endorphins –which are triggered by a variety of events – which,
fortunately, for the betterment of the world, includes any simple act of
kindness.
Source – healthline.com
At a neurological level,the
human brain has been shown to be hard-wired to find pleasure in the act of
giving, so if you need to boost your mood, it is simple - GIVE. In fact,
according to a US National Library of Medicine/NIH
report, kindness and giving is an integral part of healing!
It Can
Help You Live Longer
A study from UM - the University of Michigan reveals results that suggest that
contributing and giving to others may help extend the lives of those that are
doing the giving. Further, these results also suggests that what makes human
contact so beneficial and valuable is not what is received but by what is given.
It Builds
Stronger Connections With Others& The Community
Giving to others helps
build communities and offers individuals a chance to be a part of an essential aspect what
it means to be human – socializing. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), research reveals
that -
·
When individuals find they have improved feelings of trust and
belonging, they are likelier to live healthier lives than those who are
marginalized or isolated.
·
When individuals have more significant community connections,
they are more inclined to want to improve the health of themselves and others –
a collective improvement for all.
It Reduces
Stress
Researchers at the
University of Pittsburgh & the University of California – through a study
published in Science Daily (2016), revealed that those
study -subjects who gave the most support to others showed reduced activity in those
areas of the human brain associate with stress. These measured responses were
taken while participants were asked to complete complex (i.e., stressful) math
tasks.
It Improves
Happiness & Lifts Depression
According
to MRI research from Emory University,philanthropic giving and
kindness light up the reward & pleasure centers in the human brain. This
phenomenon is known as the helper’s high, which is characterized by
a euphoric, feel-good response when engaging in a charitable or giving
activity.
In
fact, these areas that are lit when giving gifts for good are the same areas
activated by other pleasurable activities like food or sex.
The
Take-Away
From a societal point of view, each of
us is taught to give gifts on certain occasions – birthdays or anniversaries,
among others. But beneath this acceptable societal custom lies its true meaning.
Giving speaks to and sends a very much need message in today’s modern world - a message
of shared appreciation for one another and Mother Earth.
A simple gift or kind act is a powerful
reminder about how little things can make a huge and positive impact on someone
else but, more unexpectedly, on your well-being. A gift is a message of
appreciation and gratitude.
To all, I gift you peace.
