"Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present." Albert Camus

This post is dedicated to my aunt, Janet Stone, who donated a kidney to a family friend this week, at the Christiaan Barnard Hospital in Cape Town in South Africa.

Giving what we can

My aunt donated a kidney to a family friend this week. It's an awe-inspiring gift to give to someone, especially when that person is not even a blood relative, no matter how close. I imagine we all think that we would be willing to donate a kidney to a family member if needed, certainly a child or a parent. 

The reason this is inspirational to me, is the generosity of spirit and heart it would have involved, even before the practical side of it, preparing for the operation and then the actual surgery and recovery itself. 

I like to think of myself as a generous person, I give when I can. I'm sure we all have times when we feel a little fearful that we won't have enough. 

Imagine giving away your kidney, instead of a few coins or even your time. That truly is something that you have to give without any sense of expectation or gratitude or return. And whilst giving money or time is important, to see someone being given the opportunity and the chance to live a better life because you have given a part of your physcial body, that must be priceless. 

I can only hope that if the opportunity to do something similar presents itself to me one day that I can be as selfless. It's only now that the process is over, that it I am really starting to realise the magnitude of just what it is my aunt has done for her friend. 

I wonder if we can think about the times that we give away anything, whether it be donating an organ, donating blood, giving money, time or love, and reflect on what we are expecting to get in return, and whether we can do it in the same spirit, not expecting anything apart from our own sense of having lived a life bigger than we are. 

George Bernard Shaw said, "This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognised by yourself as a mighty one." 

This truly is the gift of giving. I'm so proud of my aunt, and sharing the experience on social media really helped hit home that there are good people in the world and people to inspire us to do good and be good. 

My aunt is one of those people for me. 

Purlgirl xx