Be A Life Giving Spirit

The spiritual law that connects prosperity and generosity is simple. Generosity is a practice that frees us from the constraints of the small self, the focus on "I, me and mine" that can be a source of limitation and suffering. When we understand that to truly prosper is to be a life-giving spirit, allowing life to flow through us to to love and serve others, we are freed from too much self-concern. Our own happiness is discovered when we contribute to the happiness of others.
~ Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian from her book The Jewel of Abundance

When I was a freshman in high school, we had to spend an hour a week in assembly listening to advice from our elders. I did not find this interesting and was genuinely puzzled when I heard that virtue is its own reward. This simply did not make any sense to me. It was many years later when I came to recognize that helping others brought me the most lasting joy. It seems to me that the Kriya Yoga principle of surrender offers the best guidance here. Surrender is not giving up, but embracing the ever present flow of rightly guided action in selflessness. What outlets have you discovered for your own generosity? Are there new ones would you like to cultivate?