A quiet and crisp night – only the moon shines through the forest. It is silent, like God has put a silken sheet over the world. Only the soft drips of raindrops as they fall to the floor of the forest can be heard.

Rain is curiously simple in some aspects – it is really just water – yet it embodies a much more complex idea behind it. Standing in the forest, one cannot help but listen to the rain dripping downwards, drenching the leaves like tears from a forgotten goddess. The pitter-patter forms music, and thunder becomes the rhythmic offset to the moment.

As the lightning flashes, however, much more becomes evident. A deer, running for safety from the rain. An ant, desperately making for its home but being caught in the pools of tears. Suddenly, as the clouds rumble overhead, a more saddening situation is felt.

You feel one with the animals, small, weak, and helpless. One with the forest, and one of many.

This is beauty.

But just like that, the silence grows a companion. For in the distance, the sounds of a guitar playing begin to form. The crisp notes are a stark opposite of the forest’s slow and dull sounds. A bongo joins in, and a girl begins to sing.

“Oh world, oh world,” she sings. “How I love the tears you cry from the sky, how I love the trees you mold from the ground.” And like this, she continues. Animals all around the forest shuffle gently in their homes, listening to the melodous music.

The next morning, the sun shines brightly. In a meadow beside the forest, young children dance. Their mother, a cautious one, comments on how terrible the forest is. Such a dangerous place, she remarks.

How right she is, and yet – how wrong she is.

- – -

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Have you ever had that feeling where you didn’t want to give anything away? When you were a packrat? Well, there are ways to adjust; to be more generous and giving.

Sometimes, one can be a bit selfish. You don’t want to give away something really good because that doesn’t make you special or not. To see if this is true, do a simple test:

Would you rather have $100 dollars if everyone else had $50 dollars, or would you rather have $1000 dollars if everyone else had $2000? There are benefits to both options. With the first one, you might have less money, but you get to show off.

Most of us, although we say we would pick the second option, but in real life, sometimes we don’t do that. It’s a strange thing, and it’s almost etched into the way we work. So here’s how to overcome that feeling of having more than others.

1. Realize that you are selfish. Sometimes realizing that you are selfish to yourself is good. You don’t need to let anybody hear; just say it to yourself quietly. Once you realize your problem instead of trying to pretend that you don’t have the problem, fixing it becomes easier.

2. Find things you’d give away. Find things in your house that you would be willing to give away. It can be anything. Now take that all and place it into a pile. You won’t be giving anyone that stuff, because chances are, it is probably all junk.

3. Find something better. Depending on your price ranges, you should pick something five to ten dollars more than the best thing you picked in your search. Buy it from a shop, with the cheapest prices you can find. If your search yielded things worth more than something more than reasonable, skip this step. However…

4. Don’t judge all on price. It’s only one factor on things. For example, some people (including me) wouldn’t want a 32 KB computer memory chip even if it cost you $50 dollars. But some people want antique items, so if the person you are giving to wants it, then by all means, give it!

5. Check the looks. It isn’t always about looks, but sometimes they can make a difference. Wipe it clean if it’s an old item, clean it off, and basically make sure it doesn’t look like a piece of junk to the receiver.

6. Add a touch of personality. It makes you feel better knowing that you didn’t just pick something from the shop. Gift wrap it, add a note, do anything that makes it personal. You’ll feel better.

7. Congratulate yourself. Give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve just gave something away!

8. Don’t keep track. This goes along with my theory that pedometers sometimes blur a person’s recognition of accuracy. It counts step for step, but in reality, telling everyone you walked 212 steps a day doesn’t cover the fact that you barely walked. So don’t write it all down on a paper. Just remember it. And don’t keep track in your head. Remember that you gave something to someone before.

9. Don’t ask for anything back. It will come to you eventually. Fate always does this (almost). Don’t ask accusingly if they have anything for you. One day, you will be remembered. And even if you aren’t, at least you did a good deed.

10. Repeat. This part shouldn’t be hard. Do everything you do again, but don’t make it seem accusing, like you are expecting something in return. You don’t need to give items worth more or anything. Giving in itself is a blessing.

Giving is a beauty. I’m not saying I’m a giving expert or anything, but I’ve collected some information that might help on being generous.