"Give" said the little stream...

So have you ever heard of the "29 Gifts" movement? I hadn't, until I read something my friend Toni posted on her Facebook and it intrigued me. It all started with a woman who was diagnosed with MS as a newlywed. She was pretty much wallowing in self-pity when she was challenged by an African medicine-woman (have we ever discussed how much I love Africans?) to give away 29 gifts in 29 days. The gifts could be anything, but they had to be authentic and mindful and at least one gift had to be something she felt was scarce in her life. So she did it with apparently amazing results (I'm reading the book) and started this global movement to give.  I love this idea, not because I'm in need of anything--I feel remarkably blessed--but because I like the idea of it being thoughtful instead of random. Of course, I've found that most of the time when I've given something to someone it has been one of those spur-of-the-moment "you need something and I can help" times. But right now I DO need to concentrate more on others than myself and I like this idea. I love the idea of blessing someone everyday for 29 days. If it brings me more peace, more contentment, more whatever, tant mieux (loosely translated: rock on).  So I decided to start today and I'm going to try and document my little journey here when I have time. I feel awkward doing it because I'm pretty comfortable with the whole "Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth" school of thought. I don't want to appear to be bragging about whatever it is that I "give." But I do want to share the experiences that are sure to come along with this sort of venture. So at the risk of appearing pompous, I shall go forth and blog. 
I started today. I decided to take a bag of clothes to DI and while for a moment I thought maybe that shouldn't count because A. I always take stuff to DI and B. It's not like I needed them anymore. But then I remembered that "my donation blesses many nations" so I did it. I also had an opportunity to give a friend $5 when going to lunch later. Again, it doesn't feel like much..it was only $5. I think I need to lose the idea that what I do needs to be a grand gesture. It doesn't have to be big, it only has to be "mindful." Hmmmm...food for thought.


If you want to join me in this grand adventure o' giving, check out www.29gifts.org and make sure to let me know--I'd love to support you and have your support!