The Hidden Gifts of Helping: How the Power of Giving, Compassion, and Hope Can Get Us Through Hard Times by Stephen G. Post
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“The Hidden Gifts of Helping: How the Power of Giving, Compassion, and Hope Can Get Us Through Hard Times ” was a surprising read and a great reminder how easy it is to lose our focuses sometimes in a critical world.
It seems easy to look for the negative, to be critical and just focus on the worse of things, but with, “The Hidden Gifts of Helping: How the Power of Giving, Compassion, and Hope Can Get Us Through Hard Times”, Stephen G. Post, reminds us that things can only be as bad as we choose to look at it and not really a “kitschy everything is so good” book, as much as a reminder how our attitude can make or break our view on the bigger picture of the world and the people around us.
Not so much as a prosperity, if you do this, you’ll get that, but a genuine, by changing the way we look at our life, our surroundings, the people we interact, how we just take the time, through giving, compassion and hope…just the simple act of having genuine, not about us or anyone, but just hope for everything, can make a difference in our lives and the lives of the people we touch and encounter.
The book brings up a character that we know all about, Ebenezer Scrooge, and his “Bah Humbag” attitude at the world, at everyone and his persistence look for “everything that he saw was wrong” with the world” and the eventually change by the end of the book, as he realized the power of hope, compassion and giving to others.
There is a quote that stood out in the book,
“Hatred, hostility, and revenge are strong emotions that can engulf our deeper sense of Unlimited Love like a tidal wave. Our experiences of God’s love can be distorted by the human filters of groupishness and exclusion, and translate into a willing to condemn those who happen to see the world differently than we do. We must be on guard to prevent the love of power from overwhelming the power of love”.
In the bible, it says to love our enemies and to forgive our enemies and although, “The Hidden Gifts of Helping: How the Power of Giving, Compassion, and Hope Can Get Us Through Hard Times”, may not appear to be a Christian non-fiction, but that’s missing the bigger point…it addresses the very points that makes being human, its best….its brightness and at the time of this review, with it being the holiday season, and for Christians, a reminder of the reason for the season, and as fellow human beings, a reminder of being the best that we can be, not the worse and not focusing on the worse either, which sadly we are all guilty of slipping into, at some point and time.
I love what the author describes as “God-Winks” and “Grace Notes” and I think we have all experienced those moments at some point of our lives and always expectantly.
Not just for the holiday season, but a fantastic reminder for living EVERYDAY of our lives, “The Hidden Gifts of Helping: How the Power of Giving, Compassion, and Hope Can Get Us Through Hard Times” is a must read to remind all of us, no matter what, what makes us great as people.
“The Hidden Gifts of Helping: How the Power of Giving, Compassion, and Hope Can Get Us Through Hard Times” was written by Stephen Post in response to a trying time in his life and of his own experience as a “castaway”, trying to reach the shores of safety, and what he discover, by rescuing not himself but others and in a way that was compassionate, loving and filled with a genuine hope and love that makes us the best of people, not the worse of people.
This is a book that reminds us, its not about us….its about something bigger than us and that when life gets rocky and it does that “We can find the link between a temporal and material world and the world of spiritual emotions and eternity. In this is a peace that passes all understanding. We can then stand in courage as points of light, and bring healing to ourselves, our families and the world”.
“The Hidden Gifts of Helping: How the Power of Giving, Compassion, and Hope Can Get Us Through Hard Times” was both an encouraging and challenging book that challenges the reader to rethink their perspective on the world, particularly if they are approaching it with a sense of anger, despair and there is no hope and instead sheds light that when we see the beauty, the hope and instead of focusing on what we think and feel, but look outside of ourselves with hope, compassion and giving to others than ourselves, we can discover something much bigger than ourselves.
This is a book to be read during the holidays, when you may find yourself stressed out and in despair during the holidays or just find yourself feeling a sense of…what hope is out there.
There is hope..and its there and there is compassion if we move pass the blinders we put on ourselves and instead look and see the love and the possibilities that are out there; To often we can fill the glass that we look at the world with so much doubt, criticism, negativity and skepticism that we miss the good that is really there.
This is a book that will help you see how there is something better out there….
© 2011, Sunflower Faith. All rights reserved.
Disclaimer: This post contains my personal opinions and does not reflect the opinion of any organization I am/was associated with or affiliated to.The product I have reviewed was/is based on my honest opinion and was not influenced or edited by anyone.Thank you to Audra Jennings of TBB Media for the complimentary copy, in exchange for my honest opinion.
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