Since Giving is going to be the topic discussed at Food and Filosophy on December 6th at the Dolce Vita at 5:30 p.m., I dared to question the sage Khalil Gibran on his idea of Giving. You are going to present your own idea on the importance or the futility of Giving, but before we begin our discussion, let us be broadminded and listen to Gibran’s insight on this topic.
And Gibran said:
You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
There are those who give little of the much that they have, and they give it for
Recognition and their hidden desires make their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life, and their coffer is never empty.
There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
And there are those that give with pain, and their pain is their baptism.
You often say, “I would give, but only to the deserving.”
The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.
They give that they might live, for to withhold is to perish.
Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you.
And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.
How would you respond to this poet? What type of giver are you? Is there good and bad giving?
We cannot think of Giving without thinking of Christianity: God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believeth in him, should not perish but would have everlasting life. How many of us are willing to give our lives for others? We saw in the Old Testament where Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son in obedience to God.
We have now celebrated Remembrance Day. Look at the giving done by so many men, women, and children for the sake of our democracy. Is this the ultimate in giving? At the Remembrance Ceremony, we all stood up and clapped for the veterans and those who died so that we might enjoy freedom. Are you and I ready to give our lives for our country?
At the last PaGo meeting, I was surprised to hear that this little group has raised $20,000.00 to help the Grandmothers of South Africa to take care of the children whose parents have died in the Aids pandemic. Here are your neighbours, all excited about helping people thousands of miles away. What do you think of this giving?
On November 20th, the A.V.Lions club will be holding their 38th Annual T.V. Auction. This could not happen without the contributions of many businesses and private persons in Port Alberni. I am in charge of collecting from the Arts community, and I personally thank all those who continue to contribute year after year to support the Lions’ charities. There is no doubt that we are a community of givers.
Folkfest’s theme of 2011 is CELEBRATING OUR COMMUNITY! We have a lot to celebrate. This little organization could not put on such a great annual show without the contribution of countless citizens, We will start working on the annual celebration from January. Now is the time to commit yourselves to making this another outstanding Folkfest Celebration. The committee thanks you in advance.
I attended Timbre’s Christmas Concert, and the choir received a standing ovation, and rightly so. Here are people giving up a lot of time so that they may entertain you and me. Here is another from of giving. The giving of the self. Ever looked at the faces of these performers, but there could not be a performance without the audience. The audience also gives a lot of appreciation to the performers.
Cannot forget Shaw’s Food Drive. They are giving back to this community, and I see that they have involved us all in this giving, and Port Alberni has responded admirably.
Now we look forward to you all at Dolce Vita on December 6th at 5:30. WHEN YOU GIVE OF YOURSELF, YOU TRULY GIVE!
CELEBRATE THE WORD AT ABBEYFIELD ON NOVEMBER 24TH AT 6 P.M. Let us celebrate poems, prose, speeches, book reports, dramatic reading! Give what you have. Remember, the audience is also a very important part of this gathering.