Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

Thinking, writing, business ideas … You’re only a stranger once.

December 14, 2007

Generosity, Gratitude, Wisdom, and Fools

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 6:56 am

Wise or Foolish . . . Which am I?

What a fool believes, the wise man has the power to reason away.
–Doobie Brothers

relationships button

My dad used to say, “A fool and his money are soon parted.” If time is money, I guess that counts for time too. So when generosity foolish?

Many are the occasions on which people ask, sometimes expect, us to help them. I’m speaking of naked requests from people we don’t know, asked as if we do volunteer work for them. I often wonder at this. I know we’re told it doesn’t hurt to ask. Yet, we’re also told to be generous first. I wonder why they haven’t heard that second part? It sure affects a first impression. Why don’t they see that a person’s time given to them is time that could be spent earning and enjoying family and friends?

Far fewer are the times when special individuals write to ask for help to accomplish a goal. They reach out with gratitude. Yes, the gratitude comes with the request. It’s only natural to respond with generosity. The fairness of this, I understand.

Some folks who call us a friend, love us like they “love” their favorite doctor. They value us while they’re feeling in need or unwell. Later they forget to say “thanks” in the way cured patients forget to pay hospital bills.

Other folks go out of their way to make sure that we know our generosity didn’t go unnoticed. These friends are always here with a smile and a kind word, even when they’re gone.

The fool in me believes that all generosity finds a way back eventually.
The wise person I am knows that could be a foolish view.

This week my son asked for advice. At the end of the call, he said a quiet, “thank you.”

The fool in me was grateful.
Gratitude is wise.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!


Filed under Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog |



C'mon. Let's talk!

42 Comments to “Generosity, Gratitude, Wisdom, and Fools”

  1. December 14th, 2007 at 7:29 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi!
    I wanted to say this outside of the piece. . . .

    The more I think on graditude and generosity, the more I believe that both need to be on both sides of the interaction.

    Generous gift is given and accepted with gratitude. It’s a generosity to give thanks and the thank you is received with gratitude.

    Without gratitude, someone is at risk of feeling a fool.

  2. December 14th, 2007 at 9:14 am
    Bob said

    Liz,

    I always enjoy your emphasis on family and friends. I think that is what gives you a bit of a unique angle. I think this is well put and I admittedly don’t say thank you enough. Especially during this time of generous giving, even without the asking. My wife on the other hand has gotten to be great at thank yous. I need to thank her for that:)

  3. December 14th, 2007 at 9:18 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Bob!
    It’s nice to see you.

    I’m trying my best to keep my head and heart together and focus them both on a meaningful life. It’s the biggest challenge I’ve ever taken on. . . . And I’ve taken on some huge ones.

    Those “thank you” words get easier and more fun to say, the more that I use them. :)

    Thanking your wife for her “thank yous” is doubly wise, I should think. :)

  4. December 14th, 2007 at 9:18 am
    Joe said

    Hey Liz,
    First let me say Thank You for being who you are.

    I think that when you give freely of yourself, it should be done because it benefits both the “giver” and the “getter”.

    That being said, handling people who continually ask for favors (knowing this is what you do for a living) and say thanks can still be difficult. Sometimes it’s hard to say no or to tell them they should be paying for your services.

    Don’t know why I brought that up. Maybe because I’m a little like you, a Thank You goes a long way.

  5. December 14th, 2007 at 9:29 am
    Karin H. said

    The fool in me believes that all generosity finds a way back eventually.
    The wise person I am knows that could be a foolish view.

    I’ll gladly be a fool any time this way ;-)
    Because I will become a ‘rich’ fool, rich in relationships and unconditional gratitude - giving and receiving.

    And I take this year and everything that has happened and enriched me as the best example I can think of!

    Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)

  6. December 14th, 2007 at 9:41 am
    Mother Earth said

    yesterday I led a third annual, back by popular demand. group workshop on collaging - the 2 yrs past I felt that it was like pulling teeth to get folks to ” get it” the value of the experience of collaging and I also felt that I wasn’t appreciated. I filled the space for the meeting - whew! THis year our group has gotten tighter, I have reached out ( funny how that works) and my status has changed because of who I bring to the table as speakers for the group - Perhaps I earned my way - I say this because yesterdays workshop was positively astounding and I felt not only appreciated I felt revered ( is that the right word for that?) It was pretty darn cool. I also like how my collage turned out - very mother earthy

    Mother Earth aka Karen Hanrahan
    http://www.bestwellnessconsultant.com

  7. December 14th, 2007 at 10:06 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Joe!
    Thank you.

    You’re right. Thank you goes a long way, and I guess I came home with a lot of gratitude for the world that I’ve got. :)

    Thank you for being who you are too. :)

  8. December 14th, 2007 at 10:09 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Karin!
    All of me hears all of you in what you wrote. I’m feeling pretty rich this year as well. :)

  9. December 14th, 2007 at 10:11 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Yea for you, Mother Earth!
    The world should be giving back to you, just as you describe! I’m so smiling about that, too! :)

  10. December 14th, 2007 at 10:17 am
    Mike said

    Liz,

    Thank you for this and your other deeply touching posts this week. I feel a change coming on, and I look forward to it. If there’s any way I can help, you let me know.

    Mike

  11. December 14th, 2007 at 10:19 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Mike!
    Thank you for being my friend and colleague . . . and for noticing. :)

  12. December 14th, 2007 at 10:37 am
    Jonathan Fields said

    Hey Liz,

    What an awesome way to start my Friday (I know, you’ve probably been up since 4am!).

    Thank you, thank you, thank you!

    Have a wonderful weekend!

    Jonathan

    PS - the other day, my 6-year old daughter wandered out to the couch in the early morning to snuggle in with me and, half alseep, said, “thanks for letting me snuggle with you.” doesn’t get much better than that!

  13. December 14th, 2007 at 10:46 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Jonathan!
    Yeah, actually I was up before then, don’t tell. :)

    That PS is a great addition to this thread! Thank you for sharing your daughter with us that way. :)

  14. December 14th, 2007 at 10:50 am
    J. Erik Potter said

    It gets back to your nature. Are you a trusting person or not? I am guilty of being too trusting. I believe deeply in the goodness of each and every one of us. Sometimes I’ve been made the fool, but that’s the exception to the rule. By going in open minded and trusting, you open yourself up to a world of new experiences.

    Liz is the perfect example of this. By allowing me to guest post a couple weeks ago, she showed her openness and trusting nature. She only knows me from a series of bits and bytes, not flesh and bone.

    It all goes back to one of Liz’s Tuesday post on love vs fear. If you lead with love, you’ll trust. If you lead with fear, you’ll distrust. Which way do you want to live?

  15. December 14th, 2007 at 10:54 am
    Mike said

    Liz,

    That’s what I do! ;-)

    Have a great weekend,

    Mike

  16. December 14th, 2007 at 10:55 am
    April Groves said

    Liz,
    As usual, your post has me chewing on some ideas. The loudest in my head is a fantastic piece of advice I received when trying to decide if I should lend someone money. My smart friend told me, “Lend it if you can afford to do so without expectation of ever getting it back.”

    If time is money, then maybe the same can apply?

    Generosity is such a wonderful thing. Gratitude is her beautiful sister. Seems like a rip to the family to tear them apart.

  17. December 14th, 2007 at 10:59 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Mike!
    . . . and you’re artful at it. :)

  18. December 14th, 2007 at 11:02 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi April!
    I hear you knocked them dead last night with your public speaking!!

    Maybe that’s because of insights like this:

    Generosity is such a wonderful thing. Gratitude is her beautiful sister. Seems like a rip to the family to tear them apart.

  19. December 14th, 2007 at 11:04 am
    Mike said

    Hi April,

    It’s EXACTLY the same with with time, perhaps even more so, because you can’t get time back once you spend/loan/experience it!

    Mike

    P.S. I’m with Liz on loving that quote.

  20. December 14th, 2007 at 11:07 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Yeah, Mike,
    The most we can do with time is keep it, give it away, or share it. :)

  21. December 14th, 2007 at 11:28 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    #14
    Hi Erik,
    Don’t know what keeps getting you stuck in the queue! Know that I’m keeping an eye out for you all of the time. :)

    I sure like what you say about leading with love. That’s a path to a nice future, if you ask me. :)

  22. December 14th, 2007 at 11:46 am
    SunnySchlenger said

    I agree that it’s the giving without expecting/needing something back in return that’s essential (hard sometimes, but essential ;-)
    Liz — how did you get over your jet-lag so fast? You sure hit the ground running!
    Thanks, again, for a wonderful week of posts.

  23. December 14th, 2007 at 11:49 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Sunny,
    Unconditional generosity and unconditional gratitude are the only kind of each.

    Regarding the jetlag, I’ve logged well over a million miles. What works for me is this: I don’t believe in jetlag (for me) and I sleep when I’m tired. :)

  24. December 14th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
    FV Classic said

    it has to be “genuine” all year.. not just on a “feel good friday”

  25. December 14th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
    Lisa Gates said

    Oh Liz…this is good. I just got something I hadn’t really put a finger on before. I think there is a responsibility to generosity, and that responsibility is entirely the giver’s. For me, being free to give, to be generous, is to choose to show up for someone because it simply feels right.

    When it doesn’t feel right, it’s my responsibility to be straight and honest with myself and say “no” or “no, but I am willing to…” and to not make the asker wrong for asking, or myself wrong for saying “no.”

    Your picture is in the dictionary next to the word generous. Go check. Really.

  26. December 14th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    I agree, FV. I agree.
    You seem to have a theme going about that. :)

    Keep us honest. :)

  27. December 14th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hey Lisa Gates,
    You are one special lady.
    I love the way that you think. Honesty is a deep, deep part of being generous. yeah.

    :)

  28. December 14th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
    Rick Cockrum said

    I want a copy of Lisa’s dictionary. It has great illustrations.

    What you said in the post, Liz, and so many commenters have said about generosity and gratitude being two sides of a coin are so true.

  29. December 14th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
    Lisa Gates said

    Rick, I can always count on you to do two things: make me laugh, and make me thing.

    L

  30. December 14th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Rick!
    Gratitude and generosity are one in the same, aren’t they? Pull them apart and neither works quite right.

    I’m a little afraid of what else might be in Lisa’s dictionary. :)

  31. December 14th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
    Mike said

    Liz,

    With respect to that dictionary, I’m guessing there might be a few Ambrose Bierce-style entries…

    Mike

  32. December 14th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Oh yeah, Mike, oh yeah!
    I know the blogger who wrote them.

  33. December 15th, 2007 at 2:43 am
    Sueblimely said

    “The fool in me believes that all generosity finds a way back eventually” - I must be foolish too as I have always believed this but 52 years of living has gradually proved it to be true. Sometimes the generosity is returned by the person it was given to. Other times it is comes from somewhere completely different. We all have different things we are good at giving or are able to give, based on our circumstances and experiences.

    I believe generosity given and taken balances out if we are able to reach out to those in need as well as when we are in need ourselves.

  34. December 15th, 2007 at 6:42 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    I hear you, Sue,
    I was thinking that too. Reaching out cannot be only something we do one way — we must reach to give and reach to receive to keep generosity and gratitude together.

  35. December 16th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
    April Groves said

    Liz,
    You must have heard that from Mr. Cree…he is biased :)

    Thanks for the encouragement - I am so looking forward to ‘08.

  36. December 16th, 2007 at 7:20 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi April!
    Actually I heard it from both of them. :)

  37. December 16th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
    April Groves said

    It’s great to have friends! They are too good to me :)

  38. December 16th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    I hear the feeling is mutual.

    Even the milkman loves you!

  39. December 16th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
    April Groves said

    The milkman? I didn’t even know there was one. I have to find out who that is. How totally bloggable would that be ;)

  40. December 16th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    April,
    [grin]
    As you might recall, that was a reference to our first telephone conversation. :)

  41. December 16th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
    April Groves said

    Oh! Ha! You got me excited for minute. I thought I had a whole story to uncover.

    You have a fantastic memory!

  42. December 16th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    He-he!
    It’s all I can do to leave that comment alone.

    Too funny!

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

C'mon Let's Talk!