Giving

The truth about giving is that it is the one thing that is almost guaranteed to make us feel good. It works that way because it takes our thoughts out of ourselves and focuses them on someone else.

I guess this is the secret that the truly selfless souls have discovered.

I have spent so much of my life thinking only of me--of furthering my career, of tackling my next project, of self promotion, of whatever.

During this holiday I have been forced to spend more time thinking of others than of myself. This was not something I tried to do; it happened by necessity. My two sons, my wife and my mother have all somehow needed my attention. Not that they've asked for it, they've just needed it. So I've had no choice but to obey my conscience which has made me realize just how lacking I've been in this area.

Maharishi's words come to mind. I heard him say many times that following the path of the householder is far more difficult than the path of being a monk. It seems like the trials we go through in our families are far more frequent in coming than during those blissfull and serene days when as a young man I lived on a mountaintop in Switzerland and meditated much of the time.

Lately I've been longing for those days with their simplicity. But for now, my schedule is full with household duties and I'm trying as hard as I can to accept them. I'm expecting that the lessons to be learned along this path will be great and lasting. Anyway, it's the path I've chosen and I think it's too late to turn around.

And then there's that thought of giving which is capable of taking me out of my own head.