When we stop growing on any level, such as the level of gifts donated to charities in 2007, we are prone to be alarmed, and unnecessarily so.  The spiritual human growth factor is not based on the business goal of profits rising at all costs. the spiritual human growth factor is my name for aggregate qualities that lead an individual to consider giving what's he got to those who don't have anything, something like sunlight to better the storm.

 

I say to those so inclined: give as if you are the sun peaking from behind a cloud. When "I've been there and know how it is," "I love this and couldn't live without it," and "Without them, I wouldn't be where I am" converge to motivate your thoughts about giving, this is a sunlit, mentally elevating and spiritual act. It is spiritual because you are listening to your inner voice or God or ethical value held dear, and choosing to do something about  what you've heard and understood.

 

In the listening there is a pause, and this is time we may call rest. When steady increase or measurable growth has plateaued, it's possible we may be looking at the restful, reflective space in time just before growth spurts or action.

 

All this to say that I declare: There is no distress signal when it comes to charitable giving, just the rest period needed to assess and digest where you are.  One percent growth certainly doesn't mean people have stopped giving. The heart (the giving heart of the donor too) does not beat in double time, giving then not giving at all. The actual heartbeat is beat-rest-beat. It is a three-part rhythm musicians and physics professors cite as ... [natural].  Sunshine, mist/humidity, rain.  Cognition, thought, speech. Seed, dormancy, bud. winter, spring, summer, you get the idea. And the order of these natural phenomena is not always set. There's much we don't know and that nature teaches us in every moment. Just as normally sunny donors do.

 

I assert that when we see growth slow to a crawl in philanthropy, it is a time when resources are being reviewed carefully and appreciated and re-arranged for what impact a gift can eventually have; what light can be shed and when shall I? This is no big news but quite good not distressful news. Better giving decisions can result from the seeming slower period. Cloud cover or slower growth signal a time for understanding a different kind of climate change. This kind of dusky rest period before dawn enables basking in the sun, eventually. These harsher economic times are a call and reminder that flourishing things have their season and always blossom at the right time.  I say the right time is growing in you from your pause.