One of my favorite quotes is from Sheldon Kopp and goes as follows: "I only get to keep that which I am prepared to give up. In Western terms, virtue is its own reward. There is no hope of redemption in doing good in order to be saved. Only by doing good for its own sake, without seeking reward, can we attain salvation." Freedom, growth, salvation are in the giving for its own sake. Giving in order to get anything in return is manipulation, that is, there are strings attached, there is an agenda, and that is an entirely different activity than simply giving. It's the difference between being and having. Sooner or later, whether we like it or not, we do give up what we have. At death we give up all that we have -- it's worthwhile to start sooner than death. We don't come into life to accumulate -- we come into life and accumulate. Accumulating things may give some pleasure, but doesn't make us truly happy. Someone said that the way to be happy is not to have more of what we want but to have less wants. In having and accumulating we are attached to whatever we have, which bogs us down and inhibits freedom. Freedom is an important part of happiness. Freedom and happiness are associated with detachment, not attachment. As for a personal example, I gave a plaque with a saying on it to someone who very much admired it -- she was very grateful and I was happy.
On Jul 24, 2012 david doane wrote :