February 23, 2010

Back in October I wrote about an article I had seen on a woman with MS who had followed the advice of her spiritual leader to give away 29 gifts in 29 days. The woman followed her advice and completely transformed her life. I had been inspired by the article and had intended to follow through with the 29 days but after about 2 days got lazy and forgot the project. Then yesterday I was at the library with my kids and took a second to check out the new books that came in and this woman’s story, her book, immediately caught my eye. I plucked the book from the shelf, checked it out, and we headed home. As my kids started to nap I began to read it and became completely enthralled. I become so engaged in this book that I woke up at 3:30 this morning to keep reading it and have finished the book in less than 24 hours. I never do that anymore, mostly because I have kids, but this book was worth less sleep. And, after having read it, I feel much more alive and inspired than I have in a long time.


The book is entitled “29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change your Life” by Cami Walker. Walker was suffering from debilitating MS, lost her job, and had a great deal of debt because of this. She was newly married when she was diagnosed and her and her husband struggled with their new life together. I would love to review the book here for you, but I think it’s much more powerful to read it on your own. Her stories are empowering, relatable and inspiring. It’s hard to take her words and sum them up in a short synopsis. I highly recommend everyone to read this book.

I would however like to talk about an important concept of the book. The book is about giving to others and how it can change your life. One of the biggest things I took from the book was that giving and receiving go hand in hand. One does not exist without the other. One of the struggles that she had, and many other people have, is accepting the receiving part. There are so many times when, for example, someone takes us out to lunch and we are immediately thinking about when we can return the favor. Or someone compliments us on our outfit and we say, “Oh, this old thing. I’ve had it for years.” It often seems hard for people to simply say “thank you” and enjoy the compliment, or lunch, or whatever gift they have been given. The art of receiving is equally important as the art of giving. One cannot coexist without the other. So it is important that if you set out on a journey to give that you be willing to receive something back from the universe. Now, this doesn’t mean that you give to someone because you are expecting back. That would not be a pure intention. However, when you give with your heart and with no expectation, the world will give back to you, and it should be taken as easily as you gave.

Again, I would like to encourage everyone to get this book. Buy it, check it out from the library, or head to Walker’s website to be part of the challenge - http://givingchallenge.ning.com/.

I would like to leave you today with a thought from Walker’s book. It is a quote from her spiritual leader, Mbali Creazzo – “Healing doesn’t happen in a vacuum, but through our interactions with other people. By giving, you are focusing on what you have to offer others, inviting more abundance into your life. Giving of any kind is taking a positive action that begins the process of change. It will shift your energy for life.”