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Wouldn’t it be an amazing world if everyone lived to look out for one another?  I believe this is not wishful thinking but is a behavior that can be learnt. This is because sharing is not dependent on how much you have, but on how willing you are to give.

We can all learn to share what we have, even when what we have isn’t much.  You see, we don’t need to have a lot, before we can make a decision to share what we have with others.  In fact, if we don’t start sharing when we don’t have much, it becomes a lot  harder to share when we have plenty left over. And that’s the strange irony of human behavior.  

For some people, however, sharing comes naturally.  They innately have a desire to share and think of others before looking out for their own needs.  But such generous people are usually in the minority, as most people tend to look out for their own needs first.  They think they can only share with others when they have more than enough for themselves.

Now if you fall into the latter category, you don’t have to feel guilty about looking out for your own needs first.  Like the emergency instructions given to passengers in an airplane, you’re often advised to put on the oxygen mask on yourself before putting on your child’s.  

But the idea here is that we should still care for others.  You see, when we’re too busy focusing on our own needs all the time, we will never have the capacity to look out for others. & when that happens, you actually deprive yourself of things that really matter in life.

As Anne Frank shared in her diary during the Holocaust,”No one has ever become poor by giving”. Strangely, you’ll be richer as you give and  share what you have with others.

Like a french loaf, there is more than enough for one person.  We will be richer when we share with one another. We will gain more friends, have deeper and more authentic relationships in our lives. Indeed, some things in life can’t be bought by money.  In fact, most things in life can’t be bought with money.  

These are things that cannot be calculated or measured, the intangibles such as friendship, love, laughter, peace of mind and so on. You can obtain them only when you build relationships.  Now you may think you can buy some of these but you can only pay to experience perhaps laughter in a comedy club or watching a funny movie but even that is temporary.

What’s lasting and permanent will be the memories shared with those people with whom you have experienced these delightful activities.  Its eternity captured in that moment. 

Yes, we are made to interact with others.  Two is better than one and three is even better according to a famous book on wisdom.  A strong rope has at least two or more strands or cords of fibers wound together. The thicker the twine of rope, the more strands used, the stronger the rope will be.

You’ll gain friendships and relationships when you share instead of calculate.  Fear of lack, is a fear that drives us to demand from others what we are not willing to give from ourselves. It isolates us and makes our lives miserable. It keeps us suspicious of others and unappreciative of people and life.  It would be a real pity if your life consists only of yourself. What a miserable way of living, don’t you think?

So take that small step to share with someone. Do it even if no one appreciates your effort yet.  For what you gain is worth so much more than what you have given out.What you’ve given to others will eventually return to you many times over.

Artist & Text: Anna G