About Friendship and Money!

A friendship is always tested when it comes to money.
The way a person relates to his or her money tells
me a whole lot about that person's relationship
to his/her "spirit."

The easiest way to make friends is to spend money on them.
People love a giver!

I've always been the type that would rather give than
get things i.e. free things from people. My greatest
day is when I can give to a friend a gift that he or
she loves and wants or needs. Money is so easy to
replace; a friend isn't. So, while I'm having
a "season" of friendship with people, I tend to give to
the best of my ability.

It's easy for me to pick up the cost of a dinner for a
friend, or throw together a dinner party. (I don't do
"potlucks" either!)

Some people are aware of this nature within me, indeed,
my entire family, and they have taken advantage of that.
But as a family, we always recited together this old
philosophy that "he who steals my purse, steals trash!
'twas mine, 'tis his and has been slain for thousands. But
he, who filches from me, my good name, robs me of that which
not enriches him...but leaves me poor indeed."

So, I feel very sad and quickly distance myself
from people who always make a big deal out of money.
People who are always counting dimes, when they
have stashed dollars. People who never give a cent extra because they
are so conscious of lack! The greatest times of frustration
for me are when I'm in the presence of stingy people, those
who want "something for nothing," those who lack a sense
of prosperity. My greatest annoyances are with those
who week by week listen to some of the greatest metaphysicians
talk about having a "prosperity consciousness," and
"there's more than enough to go around," yet they
are the stingiest people around!

Which God are THEY serving?

There are some people who have shocked me with their generosity;
others who have disappointed me with their stinginess.

The truth is, yes, we must be practical about money. Don't spend more
than you have. But sometimes, people do need a helping hand. Sometimes,
even with their best efforts, honest, hard-working people do fall down!

The questions we must always ask ourselves at those times are these:

• Will you have a friend...a person you've shared secrets with for years...embraced for years as a friend...fall down because of a few dollars?

• Is losing a friendship, or gaining one, worth the price of a dinner?

If so, then go ahead and hold your purse tight.

Years from now, when you've saved enough, you may look around
your world.

You'll see.

Empty spaces that only a friend could have filled.

A long-time, childhood friend once told me what she was taught by her grandmother: "To Have a Friend, BE a Friend!"

Embrace your Spirit of Generosity!

Embrace your Abundance!

There REALLY is Always ENOUGH to go around!

Embrace your friends with your GIVING Spirit!

Namaste',

Che'