This year my Countdown to Christmas is a nontraditional Advent Calendar centering (pun intended) on mindfulness.
On the front of each card is neat little picture, and on the back are the instructions for the short meditation.
Today, Day Two of Advent … “EXERCISE GENEROSITY.”
Wait! Stop! That’s not the right type of exercising.
Here are today’s instructions:
They say the true meaning of Christmas is not receiving, but giving. Today, look for opportunities to be generous. There are many different ways that generosity can be exercised, and it doesn’t necessarily have to come in the form of material gifts.
It could be an act of kindness. Helping someone with a task, talking to someone who looks lonely, letting someone with fewer items jump in front of you in the supermarket queue – there are many openings in daily life to perform an act of kindness and feel the warm glow of positivity that comes with it.
It could come in the form of generous words. Try giving someone an honest compliment. Letting someone know what you truly like about them can really boost their morale. Be present in these small positive moments as your compliment is received. Pay attention to the reaction of the receiver, and also to how this small but significant act of giving impacts your own emotions.
Often, little chances to be kind and generous can pass us by when we are concerned with other things.
Throughout the day, make the extra effort to exercise generosity and see how it makes you feel.
NealEnJoy 