The Gift of Giving

These last few days, I have had my hands full with too many things. S has not been well. Little Mahi is down with fever. Work is ever-increasing. I am up till late trying to write more chapters for the English Literature Textbook that has stories for each individual child in the centre who is doing the academic program. After that I am working on compiling comprehension exercises. Some days I am actually done early but on the days I have extra cooking work as in baking cookies or cakes to send as snacks for the twosome, I run late. By the time I am in bed, I am too wired to sleep. And so it goes. It feels good to be so occupied. It feels even better to know I am doing things that cross boundaries and that I had never imagined I could do. Every single day throws up challenges. Every single day is an exercise in discovering creative solutions. Every single day I am grateful that I am given the strength to get up and try harder. Yes it feels good.

I know that in the eyes of the world I don’t qualify as any kind of a success. I have made no money of my own. It has bothered me occasionally because let’s face it, money is really quite important. But I also know that money alone can never complete you. I may not have what I was once used to, but I feel better about myself on the days that I remember to be grateful. It is not because of the passion for our centre; it is simply because focusing on things other than oneself always broadens your mind to the point where you recognize that whether you make money or not or even if you have lots of tough problems or not is not really the biggest issue in this world. Focusing outside yourself gives you perspective. It also teaches you humility. 

I am humbled in so many ways each day. I see my bubbly partner walk in full of energy and ready to tackle the day armed with nothing more than fierce dedication and a voice every child respects. I know of many times she has spent her one Sunday off taking one of our kids to some event or a movie because their parents were either unable to or uninterested in doing so. She comes in early and is the last to leave. She is up till 2 am working and sending me mails at ungodly hours. All this without taking a single note in payment. She amazes me constantly and I ask myself time and again how she finds this level of passion every single day.

My friend V who works at the centre has a driver who is always ready to help with the children. All our kids get along with him famously. He doesn’t know enough English to communicate with them. He is a simple guy who happens to have a good heart. His face lights up when the kids greet him by name. One day he gave us a pretty painting of horses because he wanted the kids to have something nice to look at. He didn’t have to do it. But he wanted to. Simple goodness always moves me. I feel lucky to witness such acts from people who many never have enough for themselves but always find a way to help another. Praveen’s generosity made him much wealthier in my eyes than a host of people who glibly assure me I have but to ask for help but will not even bother to take fifteen minutes of their time to drop by even after repeated requests. Superficial words are so easy to spout; the truth is generosity does not depend on how much you have – it merely depends on how joyous it makes you to give. Praveen is indeed blessed.

It saddens me to see children around me who have never learnt how much fun it is to give. When I can only see a deepening culture of ‘me first’ or ‘let me just have fun’, I wonder how many years anyone can spend in the pursuit of distractions. I still believe that it is enjoyable to teach children to give. It is one of the most valuable blessings you can bestow on your child. Indeed it is one of the keys to happiness. I know that a child who learns to give and think of another will never ever be weak emotionally and this seeming epidemic of youngsters ending their lives because of low grades or silly lovers’ arguments would be a thing of the past. There is no age limit on learning to give and there is no right time to do it – giving is truly growing.