Be a Joyful Giver
"Doing good to others is not a duty. It is a joy, for it increases your own health and happiness."
- Zoroaster
...One of my favorite experiences of giving came while I was working at a Los Angeles news station that was owned by Disney. Whenever there was a big disaster, the station executives would order in pizzas or sandwiches so that we could work without taking a full lunch break. Even now, when a disaster hits, I sometimes think of pizza.
One day, we were in the midst of one "breaking news" disaster or another, and the executive producers had ordered in sandwiches for the whole newsroom of about 60 or so people. They were always kind enough to order a vegetarian meal for me, and when my time came for a quick lunch, I sat down near the front door, picked up half of my sandwich, and began to eat.
In the meantime, the president and CEO of Disney, Michael Eisner, came in to visit our newsroom for the first time. I'd recently read several magazine articles about how Mr. Eisner had made tens of millions of dollars in stock options that year. He was standing right near me, chatting with the news director, when Mr. Eisner spotted the bag of sandwiches. I overheard him mentioning that he hadn't eaten all day, and that he was very hungry. Then, he asked if there were any vegetarian sandwiches available.
The news director glanced over at me chomping on my half-eaten sandwich - we both knew I had the only vegetarian meal in the place. I thought, "When else am I going to have a multi-billionaire beg half a sandwich from me?" I wrapped up the uneaten half and offered it to Mr. Eisner with a friendly smile. "Here's half of a vegetarian sandwich for you!" He accepted and gratefully ate the gift.
"What can one person do? There's something going on in your workplace, in your family, in your life, where Spirit is saying, "I've got you uniquely placed, because there's something I would do through you. For this I have created you. For this I have called you into being. You are free, to be and do all that God created you to be."
- Mary Manin Morrissey
...more of this chapter is available in the book, "Secrets of Spiritual Happiness," by Sharon Janis.
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