#generosity

To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness. ↗

— Confucius

#constitutes #earnestness #five #generosity #gravity

The sea - this truth must be confessed - has no generosity. No display of manly qualities - courage, hardihood, endurance, faithfulness - has ever been known to touch its irresponsible consciousness of power. ↗

— Joseph Conrad

#confessed #consciousness #courage #display #endurance

People do more for their fellows than return favors and punish cheaters. They often perform generous acts without the slightest hope for payback ranging from leaving a tip in a restaurant they will never visit again to throwing themselves on a live grenade to save their brothers in arms. [Robert] Trivers together with the economists Robert Frank and Jack Hirshleifer has pointed out that pure magnanimity can evolve in an environment of people seeking to discriminate fair weather friends from loyal allies. Signs of heartfelt loyalty and generosity serve as guarantors of one s promises reducing a partner s worry that you will default on them. The best way to convince a skeptic that you are trustworthy and generous is to be trustworthy and generous. ↗

— Steven Pinker

#generosity #loyalty #trustworthiness #nature

Practice giving things away, not just things you don't care about, but things you do like. Remember, it is not the size of a gift, it is its quality and the amount of mental attachment you overcome that count. So don't bankrupt yourself on a momentary positive impulse, only to regret it later. Give thought to giving. Give small things, carefully, and observe the mental processes going along with the act of releasing the little thing you liked. (53) (Quote is actually Robert A F Thurman but Huston Smith, who only wrote the introduction to my edition, seems to be given full credit for this text.) ↗

— Huston Smith

#generosity #gift #giving #non-attachment #practice

There's a certain feeling of giving, a certain feeling of generosity in love songs. When you sing a song of love, you're actually giving something to yourself, too. You're singing and casting these affirmations of love out into the universe. ↗

— Jason Mraz

#casting #certain #certain feeling #feeling #generosity

When rough times have fallen upon our state in the past, Texans have always responded with generosity and an eagerness to help. The compassionate response to the fires has proven that this community spirit is alive and well. ↗

— Randy Neugebauer

#always #community #compassionate #eagerness #fallen

Generosity is the most natural outward expression of an inner attitude of compassion and loving-kindness. ↗

— Dalai Lama XIV

#generosity #inspirational #loving-kindness #spiritual #attitude

He who gives what he would as readily throw away, gives without generosity; for the essence of generosity is in self sacrifice. ↗

— Henry Taylor

#essence #generosity #gives #readily #sacrifice

The great thing about the United States and the historically magnetic effect it has had on a lot of people like me is its generosity, to put it simply. ↗

— Christopher Hitchens

#effect #generosity #great #great thing #had

This idea of selfishness as a virtue, as opposed to generosity: That, to me, is unnatural. ↗

— Jessica Lange

#idea #me #opposed #selfishness #unnatural