True Generosity

​We were on vacation walking by the boardwalk; a homeless man was sleeping under the shade of a tree trying to protect himself from the heat. The gentleman did not have shoes, and was wearing socks with holes. Gabriel, our son, without thinking twice, took his shoes off and left them next to the sleeping homeless man. His Mother said, “but Gabriel, how are you going to walk barefoot, there is glass and all kind of garbage that can get in your feet.” He replied, “don’t worry mom, I have a shorter distance than this homeless man does, I think I can make it.” He had no issues walking barefooted.
 
As it happened, it made me think of an event from my early childhood. When I was 6 years old, I was walking out of Sunday night mass with my grandfather where we saw a mentally handicapped man standing outside. It was drizzling and cold but this particular homeless man always recognized us and greeted us with a cordial hello. That night, while walking next to my ‘abuelito’ (grandfather), I saw him taking out a 100 Sucres bill (at that time almost $100) from his pocket and placing it in the hand of this old man. This simple, polite man bowed in appreciation with a great grin on his face. Abuelito smiled back and kept walking. No one noticed except me; an event that had touched me so deeply that I periodically recite it to my kids.
 
True generosity, is when you are willing to offer your time, your effort, your words, your feelings, your possessions without expecting something in return; You offer openly, honestly and full of joy.
 
− I looked at Gabriel, I felt so proud of him. He was willing to help without expecting anything in return... What a great feeling, to know that my grandparent’s generosity was passed on to my kids.
 
True generosity is a silent gesture! - Isabela Fraga-Abaza

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