A thought on generosity

At the state convention of the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association, Dennis had helped someone who was having issues getting their presentation to work on a loaner laptop. Despite the last-second nature of the "emergency" (and typically sucky hotel wireless connection), the presenter was able to give her spiel.

To Dennis, it was just a matter of downloading and installing the correct software. Something both he and I do without blinking. (Booyah for open source!) To the presenter--and the folks who had come to cheer her on--he was the hero of the hour.

Sadly, I think we tend to underestimate what we have to give to others (and, so sometimes don't bother). But it's rather like how "trade" in Economics 101 is supposed to work: Each side thinks that what the other has is, pound for pound, more valuable than what it is offering in return. If we accept that mutual imbalance in perception as truth, then when gratitude is the coin of the other side, it cannot devalue what we have to offer.

Be generous where you can--it will probably be worth more than you will know, at least at the time.