“In time, the ego hits upon a new notion that happiness lies not just in taking but also in giving. This is a momentous discovery, for it rids the ego of many kinds of fear. There is the fear of isolation, which total selfishness must lead to. There is the fear of loss, which arises because you can’t hold on to everything forever. There is the fear of enemies, those who want to take from you.
By becoming a giver, the ego doesn’t have to live with these fears, at least not as much as before. A nagging problem has been solved. But there is something deeper at work too. Giving connects two people, the giver and the receiver. This connection gives birth to a new sense of belonging, not the passive belonging of the baby who automatically belongs to the mother but the active belonging of someone who has learned to create happiness.
Giving is creative. It also turns the ego’s perspective completely around. Before the giver is born, guarding against loss was all-important. This meant loss of money and possessions but also loss of self-image, loss of importance. Now the person freely parts with something, yet it doesn’t feel like a loss. Ins
tead the ego feels pleasure. How amazing, for the pleasure of taking was never like this.
Love has entered the heart. That’s the difference.”
The Way Of The Wizard, Deepak Chopra, p. 155 – 156.
