‘The skill of generosity is the ability to communicate courage, the power to stand up and address whatever is painful in life. Courage, in the form of encouragement, is a gift always potentially in our possession but actualizable only if we have cultivated it, only if we have developed our powers of compassionate, sensitive giving in other circumstances. The perfection of generosity consists primarily, therefore, in a system of practices aimed at the development of these capacities and these skills.’ (The Six Perfections)

This is a part of my vows that I take seriously and am always striving to improve in. I don’t feel especially courageous, but I know how valuable encouragement can be, especially compared with denigration, something I had a lot of training in earlier in my life.