GENEROSITY

Actually it is an essay...about generosity

              GENEROSITY 

     Psychologists especially behaviorists tries to explain behavior of individuals in terms of motivation behind it. By knowing motivation behind a particular behavior you can promote or demote it using appropriate reinforcements. This prompts me to think about the most sublime of all humane qualities Generosity and motivation behind it.

                       Generosity is a good quality that is learned through life experiences. It is a manifestation of individual’s broad mindedness. It vouches for his ability to jump out his limited ego and expand himself beyond its walls. It is indispensable for the harmony of a society that aims at the equality of its heterogeneously dispersed groups it constitutes especially in the materialistic level.

                    Home is the first place where tit bits of generosity are picked up in the early child hood. To complement this, comes the actual instructor of this quality- Religion. Almost all religions herald generosity a must observed quality for one’s spiritual growth. Some religions even threaten with possible punishment from the God almighty if Generosity is not observed.

                       The fact is, generosity is often not purely generous. Those who are generous and donate to a cause, individual or collective, expect something in return. It may be blessing from God, or a promising heavenly life after death, or as a penance for misdeeds committed in the past. In these cases it is the fear or anxiety over future life that prompts the individual to be generous.

                   Yet, there are many who expect an enhancement for their social image by their generosity. Yet there are many who use generosity to have a control over others exploiting their helplessness. Here the power motive of the person fuels his generosity.

                       Motivated generosity is not a generosity in its pure form. The real generous person will never have experienced a feeling of giving. The real generosity is that generosity which arises from the awareness of One-ness of all living organisms under the sky. Generosity springs from that awareness has a special beauty. Generosity is only an outward expression to that awareness by which he has transcended his existence as a separated entity from the universe around him.

                 When I look back, I can say that there is only one person, in my life who was purely generous. It is my grandmother. She never knew what she gave me. She kept on giving her health wealth, love…all to everybody else in my family till end. She was not aware of her act of giving. Giving was her way of living. I dedicate this article to her.

Reviews

[RDOriginal]

Generosity is an interesting article to pick to write about as in its pure form it's an altruistic act that is uniquely human.

Structurally you break up the essay into the traditional three part structure with an introduction, a discussion and a conclusion. However it might have been a bit stronger if you'd actually posed a question in the introduction. That way a fairly small essay like this would have its boundaries defined. Without such a structure its hard to conclude whether you've actually achieved what you set out to do or not.

In the discussion section of the essay you introduce some interesting points but without defining what you mean by generosity (is it acts that seem that way or acts of true altruism?) there's no real direction to the debate. However, you do cover what isn't meant by generosity and point out the false nature of pretending to be generous due to guilt or the fear of some sort of divine justice. This is strong point of the essay.

I like the conclusion a lot as you do seem to have found someone who actually was truly generous and it's a good personal touch you introduce and it's a nice tribute.

Overall this is a good essay that with the addition of a little more structure and direction that could become a great essay.

[Ed Hart]

behaviorism is the kind of thinking the ego establishes, but the truth is much larger than the ego

[the_stoic]

quite a relevant topic that you have written on .. i am not good when it comes to reading and comprehending psyche stuffs but this was within my visceral capacity . nice write !

[Dinesh Sairam]

To be frank, this looks more like a blog entry than a story. If I'm rating this as a Blog entry, I'd say it's pretty good. Hard to see people writing on their grannies these days. Well, since you've given it's a story.. er.. I don't know. :(

[Tea And A Cheshire Smil..]

I found this rather interesting ^^ I don't really have any criticisms on the writing... I did wonder at the presentation of the paragraphs (some looked separated due to the shorter last lines) however that's hardly a fault! The writing's what's important.
As I said, a fascinating essay.