It's a Beautiful Life: Christmas Dana in Myanmar

I feel truly blessed to have had the opportunities to do charitable acts (dana) in far away lands. This Christmas dana brought me joy and here is what I have learned about giving.

I have come to realize that a dana is a gift - to the recipient and to oneself. To give, there must be one to receive. There were times when I truly wanted to give but I couldn't. I must also confess (in case I give a false impression of myself here) that there were also times where the was a need but I didn't feel inspired to give. Hence, my conclusion: For a dana to happen, something up / out there and in there (the heart) must be aligned. I don't take it for granted.

I have learned that it does not always have to be money nor does it have to be a large amount. In the recent year, I grew aware of myself giving my time, my presence, my attention. I rank these as harder to part with than money.

Genuine giving transcends race, colour, religion, and all things that we have created to separate us. In my imagination, when giver and recipient connect, the connection is magical. It is beyond this plane. A bright light bridges the two. All barriers are blurred. In my little mind, I count giving to one who is different from oneself as a 'bigger dana' simply because you have to overcome your prejudices first.
PS - I hope Ae and Ew will visit this blog one day and be joyful seeing the wonderful dana that they did when they were 1 and 3 years old.