“It is the heart that does the giving; the fingers only let go.” 

—Nigerian proverb

Chapter XI, “Generosity,” in Sue Bender’s Everyday Sacred: A Woman’s Journey Home made me think about the simplicity of generosity. Bender makes the point that generosity can be misunderstood as solely huge acts of cost and sacrifice. She then offers vignettes of generosity from her life that exemplify small acts of love – flowers for a table, a card for a grandmother, a friend who listens and is present. Generosity as small acts of love makes it something I can touch, taste, see, and feel, and ultimately actually do.

Thinking about heart and giving, fingers and letting go brings generosity into focus. A while ago now, I started working my way through the books that have had on my bookshelves for years but have never gotten around to reading. (I call it my “books falling club.”) One of the themes that has emerged in my virtual conversation with my “club” is the connection between service and generosity. When looked at it through the lens of service, generosity comes from our hearts and manifests in the world through the work of our hands. There is no service with out generosity, and no generosity without service.

What I know for sure about generosity is that it expands and builds. It multiplies and flows. It joins and strengthens. It is based on abundance and . In a world where fear and scarcity can steal our attention, generosity brings us back to the truth that love begets love. The heart, the source of giving, knows this.