It's Much More Than That - Giving

Is it just me or is giving someone a gift one of the best things ever? There is just nothing like that feeling you get when you give someone a gift that you know they are going to love.

But what many people fail to realize is that giving is about so much more than gifts. According to the dictionary, to 'give' means to "freely transfer the possession of (something) to (someone); hand over to." 

This dictionary definition does not specify exactly what is being transferred when you give something to someone. Sure, it can certainly be applied to gifts and other material items, and to give those things is not a bad thing. But giving is so much more than that. 

Thinking about this word, 'giving', got me to come up with a little list of things that a person could give to someone else. Included in this list are things that I think many people forget about all too often. However, I truly believe that all of the things mentioned below are things that should be given freely and generously.

Time - this is one of the best things that you could offer someone. Giving up your time to spend with someone else speaks way louder than any gift ever could.

Words of Encouragement - it could be as simple as "I just wanted to let you know that I am proud of you." Or even, "You will get through this." Giving little words of encouragement can completely turn someone's day around.

Words of Appreciation - similar to words of encouragement, words of appreciation can let someone know that you really care about them and are thankful for them. Example: "Thank you so much for always being there for me. I really value you as a friend."

The Benefit of the Doubt - this sounds a bit strange, but giving someone the benefit of the doubt means believing them when no one else does. It means offering forgiveness when they don't deserve it. And it is one of the best gifts that you could possibly give.

What does 'giving' mean to you?

It's Much More Than That - Happiness

Is it just me or do you ever look up a word in the dictionary only to find that the definition is not exactly how you would describe the word? Oftentimes, the "official" definition of a word differs from how we interpret the word's meaning and its relevance to our lives. It is for this reason that I decided to start another "series" on my blog titled "It's Much More Than That - *insert choice word here*".  Every Wednesday, I will choose one word and define it as I have come to understand it.

Today's word is happiness. According to the dictionary, 'happiness' is defined as "the state of being happy." This led me to look up the definition of 'happy' which reads, "feeling pleasure and enjoyment because of your life, situation, etc."

How do you take a word like 'happiness' and restrict it to just one universal definition?? To me, happiness is so much more than just a word; it is a feeling, an experience like no other. Many times, people think of happiness as something to be achieved. "If I only had this new car, I would be happy..."; "When I get this promotion at work, then I will be happy..."; and the list goes on. But I don't think that happiness is something that we need to set as a goal for ourselves, or something that we need to continually strive for. 

I want so much more out of life than to simply experience happiness every now and then. I want to be happy. Happiness doesn't have to be (and shouldn't be) an "if...then..." type of thing. Happiness should just be. I shouldn't have to work for it, and I certainly shouldn't have to depend on other things or people to keep my happiness going. 

To me, happiness is singing in the car at the top of my lungs to my favorite song. Happiness is getting lost in a good book while sipping on a nice hot cup of coffee. Happiness is hanging around the house with my family knowing that I am loved. Happiness is thinking about my life and reflecting on all of the blessings that I have.

What does happiness mean to you?