Miriam O. Ezenwa, PhD, RN, FAAN

Greetings, my people! On Week 7 of our series, Strategies for Strengthening your Core and your Will to Turn your life Around, I will discuss “Giving,” the seventh strategy I used to turn my life around. Two important questions for us to consider are these: “Today, what something of value did you give to another?” Is your palm facing up to receive your blessings or facing down to bury them?

Here is the thing about giving, “Giving is reciprocal,” which means, “You have to give something to receive something.” I illustrated this point in my upcoming memoir, “Above the Tempest: Rising after a fall.” At the age of 10 years old, I learned from my mother the spiritual implications of giving. For my mother, giving is one of the three golden rules that attract the spirit of wealth or blessings upon one’s life.

As a child who grew up in abject poverty, I started to operate from the mentality of lack and hoarding, believing that if I gave from the little we had, we would starve. Immediately, my mother corrected me by saying, “Give to unlock blessings.” My mother loved sharing food and foodstuff with neighbors who were poorer than our family. She always maintained that visitors, rich or poor, have something to eat whenever they came to our home. Even when they refused food, my mother obliged them to, at least, have a drink of water before leaving. I was very puzzled by how she sometimes shared avocado pears, pineapples, oranges, or other foodstuff that we considered expensive.

Once, when I questioned her overgenerous attitude, my mother told me, “Givers never lack.” Then, she made a fist, stretched her hand towards me, and opened it. “When you extend your hand to give a gift, your fingers open up so that your palm faces heaven. On that open hand, unimaginable blessings fall that will accumulate to sustain you.” She continued, “Blessings cannot fall on closed fists.”

            I asked my mother, “What if I have nothing to give? Does it mean that I will not receive wealth and other blessings?”

            “You cannot give what you don’t have,” my mother responded. “But every person in this world has something to give to others. Love, kindness, hugs, smile, obedience, assistance, care, compassion, a helping hand, and empathy. You give me these intangible things, always, and they are really all I need from you. They give me joy and happiness as well as peace. You help me care for our family, our home, and my business because you don’t want to see me upset or sorrowful. In return, I shower you with countless blessings that will nurture your wealth and manifest when you are old and wise enough to manage them.”

My mother’s prophetic words were fulfilled upon my life. Given my humble beginnings, I have achieved great successes because I adhered to her advice about giving. Today, I continue to give when I have material things to share. I also give non-material things like kindness, compassion, empathy, smiles, hugs, love, and favors. These non-material things cost me nothing more than positive energy, which I received freely from God, the Higher Power, or the Creative Source. However, they bring me immeasurable blessings that have helped me in my journey to turn my life around.

What can you give to others today? Can you open your palms to receive the blessings resulting from your act of giving?

I know you can do it!

I would love to hear from you about your success with your act of giving. How did it help you turn your life around?

I will connect with you again soon to conclude our series, “Strategies for Strengthening your Core and your Will to Turn your life Around.”

I wish you strength, always!

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