"Giving Yourself Away"

I went to a memorial service this past Saturday for a young (45)former student. There was standing room only a testament to the wonderful life she lived. Although she was a cancer survivor for many, many years, you never saw her without a smile. Her life was one of selflessness.

I was very impressed by the minister's theme. He said that just as she did, we should live our lives by "giving ourselves away." Many people live this way every day--I know a lot of them. When we give ourselves away, we cannot do it because we expect something in return. We should do it because we know that it is what really matters.

"Giving ourselves away" may mean different things to different people, but to me, it means living selflessly, sharing ourselves with others in every way. It means being a friend; knowing how to treat friends; helping those who need it; sharing knowledge and wisdom; doing meaningful work; celebrating diversity; living according to our principles, religious and otherwise;

Interestingly enough, as we "give ourselves away" we must also know how to receive and appreciate the gifts that others give us! The more we live, the more we recognize the importance of this concept.

As my friend said at my "freetirement" celebration--what really matters in life is the "dash" and not when we came and left. Our dashes should certainly represent the "gift of US" that we willingly and joyfully gave away.