Monday, October 27, 2008

Give a Little Love, Get a Little Love (and 200 Dollars!)

Maybe you've noticed the little "Giving Challenge" widget on my blog and wondered, "Hey! What's that woman talking about?" (If you've seen the SNL skit of the game show with Tina Fey translating what women are talking about while a bemused guy stands there, losing all the money, then you'll understand the hilarious reference in that last line, which for a PG-rated blog, I simply cannot allow. But if you're not an SNL fan, then never mind.)

Um, where was I? Oh, yes, the giving. Cami Walker has a website dedicated to the 29 Gifts, A Giving Challenge. A year or so ago, Cami was struggling with serious illness when a friend remonstrated her. What she needed to do, said the friend, was think a little less of herself and more of others. To that end, Cami's friend directed her to give away 29 gifts in 29 days. Remarkably, halfway through the 29 days, Cami's health began to improve dramatically. Now, she encourages others to follow this prescription and take up the healing power of giving.

To be honest, my mother used to say, "If you'd think more of others instead of yourself..." whenever I whined in my teen years. She may have told me that about a week ago, too. So the healing power of giving has been around for a long time. Which only goes to prove that there's something to giving.

Cami has a book due to be released in 2009 and she wants to include other stories of giving. She'll even give you 200 dollars if your essay is selected! You must sign up for the 29 day challenge, give away 29 gifts (the gifts can be anything: a smile, a sock, spare change), write an essay and send it in by November 29th. Now, I realize you don't have much time here, but if you sign up today and start giving away, you'll still have almost a week to write and polish your essay. And if you don't get around to writing the essay, you'll at least feel better than when you started!

And that's what this woman's talking about! (Check out more details here.)