Refusing Awards

To refuse awards is another way of accepting them with more noise than normal. - Peter Ustinov

And their point is generally lame.

Gratitude

Gratitude is merely the secret hope of further favors. - Francois de La Rochefoucauld

  Go against the usual and repay those who shared their generosity.

Friends Indeed

When a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is any thing you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it. - Edgar Watson Howe

Soup when sick, cookies when work needs to be done.

Mediocre Gratitude

It's a sign of mediocrity when you demonstrate gratitude with moderation. - Roberto Benigni


Don't be mediocre in anything you do.

Paying Compliments

When you cannot get a compliment any other way pay yourself one. - Mark Twain


Pay someone else one too while you are at it;  they're free.

Not Grace; Thanks

Today we set aside time to thank those around us, and who have gone before us, for the luxuries we so easily take for granted. Thanks to the men who tamed fire and the wheel and those firemen and policemen who today keep them from returning to their wild state. Thanks to the men of the mind who envisioned how men could best live together in peace. To the Washingtons and Jeffersons and Franklins who risked their lives so we may be free to create and hold the elements of prosperity and pass them on to those who go after us. Thanks to those whose names we do not even know who have protected us from those who would do us harm. Thanks to all those whose shoulders we stand on; who form the pavement of the road from the primordial ooze to the stars.

Sometimes Thank-You is Not Enough

One can never pay in gratitude: one can only pay 'in kind' somewhere else in life. - Anne Morrow Lindbergh 


That's why money was invented.


(Other posts on Gratitude)

Poor People

You cannot spend money in luxury without doing good to the poor. Nay, you do more good to them by spending it in luxury, than by giving it; for by spending it in luxury, you make them exert industry, whereas by giving it, you keep them idle. - Samuel Johnson 


There will always be "poor" people - people who would rather be idle than industrious. Those which are industrious, though poor, deserve your respect and reward.


(Other posts on Money) 

Giving Limits

Givers have to set limits because takers rarely do. - Irma Kurtz

Set your limits to start with - it's easier to expand your limits than it is to establish them after the fact.

Augmented Post

Generosity
There is a huge difference between being generous and being altruistic. Generosity is purposeful and discerning, altruism is blind and indiscreet. Recipients act accordingly. Seldom do you see the recipient of altruism express gratitude. – Lyle

Apparently others agree with me:
Too many have dispensed with generosity in order to practice charity. - Albert Camus

No one has a right to receive charity. No group of people have that right either. Charities generally pride themselves on not being judgemental or placing requirements on their recipients. Worse yet are those charities whose goal is to serve the worst among us in the same way. The benefit the giver and recipient receive are only temporary and they will be back for more. Nothing changes; no progress is made.

Generosity, on the other hand, has the chance to make a permanent difference and provide a permanent satisfaction for the giver.

If Habitat for Humanity were to require the recipient to help build the house and sign a contract that they wouldn't trash it then I would be more inclined to support their organization.

Silent Gratitude

Silent gratitude isn't very much use to anyone. - Gertrude Stein



Thank you for reading this blog.

Generosity

There is a huge difference between being generous and being altruistic. Generosity is purposeful and discerning, altruism is blind and indiscreet. Recipients act accordingly. Seldom do you see the recipient of altruism express gratitude. – Lyle