Years ago I was at an Al-Anon meeting. The topic of the meeting was courage. Someone suggested that the thing that takes the most courage was the courage to be yourself.
There was a time that I felt that taking a compliment to heart meant that those people around me would think I was full of pride. I might say ” Oh, It was nothing”
If I gave my daughters new bicycles it would not be OK with me if when the neighbor kids admired their bikes they said the bikes are not really that good. They could always say thank you and let it go at that. If the neighbors were poor kids we could do our best to get the the poor kids bikes even if it meant we would share bikes inside our family.
Being thankful for what God gives us allows us to appreciate Gods good gifts. Being joyful as we look to share our abundance with those in need allows us to receive gifts, be thankful for the gifts and then look for ways to have the joy of sharing our abundance.
George Caywood 