The power of giving is a force that has the ability to transform not only the lives of others but also our own. It is an act of selflessness that has the potential to create positive change in the world. When we give, whether it be our time, resources, or talents, we open up a pathway for connection, empathy, and growth. One of the most remarkable aspects of the power of giving is its ability to transcend boundaries and divisions. It has the capacity to bridge the gap between different cultures, backgrounds, and belief systems. When we give, we acknowledge the interconnectedness of humanity and embrace our common humanity.

The Creature is an invitation to follow the mechanics between power and pain, which begets the creature. Creatures confront power in, and through, conjunctures of radical contingency. The casual use of power is an exercise in distraction. It is an abiding conundrum that those who endure affliction also exert it as a force over other living bodies in equal measure-not as acts of vengeance or bad faith, but through deeds of forgetful randomness. To ensure social indemnity and security, creatures exercise force over kindred embodiments through a process of collective mimicry. In the bargain, creatures begin to disfigure and distort each other. The line between mutual slaughter and mutual embrace begins to blur. Each transgresses its own soul. At other times, power is an opaque, magisterial and disdainful style of conveyance. It reveals itself out of nowhere. But the steadfast creature is as resilient as it is vulnerable. The more it endures, the greater its perdurance. Perduring creatures may sometimes gain a second sight, forged out of a sense of lyricality, love and abdication. But is abdication, or taking refuge in the wondrous, sufficient to release all creatures from the fatal loop of power and pain? Or will they have to slowly shed creaturely affliction by a rigorous process of decreation? Sifting through the writings of Giambattista Vico, Niccolò Machiavelli, Gabriel Tarde, Miguel de Unamuno, Jibanananda Das, Lev Shestov, Raymond Geuss, Jean Starobinski, Ernst Bloch, Simone Weil, Simon Critchley, Sarah Kane and others, this volume explores the creaturely predicament and its possibilities of freedom. The five chapters in Book I lay down fundamental questions for the creaturely condition: the question of mimicry, the relationship between taking initiative and being hounded, the bridge between senses and destitution, and the vehemence of radical contingency. Book II posits the question of skepticism, fideism and their connection to resilience and generosity in creatures. Book III is entirely devoted to various ways of conceiving the aesthetic: through the tragic, the epiphanic, the catastrophic and through militant material eruptions. Book II and III essentially delve into the sites of freedom that lurk within the condition of the creaturely. Book IV is constituted of a single chapter on the subject of decreation; it grapples with questions of attention, anonymity and abdication.

This comprehensive text for Christians on organizational leadership provides theological foundations while tracing the historic roots of management, organization and leadership theories. All of this leads to five essential challenges and practices--communication, negotiation, decision-making, financial stewardship and personal development.

Gratitude and generosity go hand in hand--the more we appreciate our lives, the more we want to give to others. In Radical Generosity, M. J. Ryan provides tools for expressing thanks. In the best-selling Attitudes of Gratitude, she taught us the inner work of realizing the many blessings we take for granted. Now, in Radical Generosity, she presents her latest examination of the virtues we need to cultivate for the twenty-first century and takes a look at generosity: what creates it, what blocks it, and what the practice of generosity can bring to our lives. In a series of short, heart-felt essays, Ryan encourages us all to stop living from what she calls "the ledger sheet mentality" of obligatory gifting and to begin giving from the overflow of a loving heart. She asks readers to consider where and how they are stingy as well as where they are meant to give, and to contemplate all the types of possible generosity, because ultimately the giving of time, energy, kind words, loving gestures, and forgiveness may matter more than any amount of money.

A guide to giving freely, with a full heart and a generous spirit: “A book you’ll cherish.” —Jackie Waldman, author of The Courage to Give Gratitude and generosity go hand in hand—the more we appreciate our lives, the more we want to give to others. The Giving Heart takes a look at generosity: what creates it, what blocks it, and what the practice of generosity can bring to our lives. In a series of short, heartfelt essays, M.J. Ryan, the author of The Grateful Heart and Attitudes of Gratitude, encourages us all to free ourselves from the “ledger sheet mentality” of obligatory, transactional gifting, and begin giving from the overflow of a loving heart. She asks readers to consider where and how they are stingy as well as where they are meant to give, and to contemplate all the types of possible generosity, because the giving of time, energy, kind words, loving gestures, and forgiveness may ultimately matter more than any amount of money. In her down-to-earth, accessible style, Ryan takes us to the heart of what it means to truly give, and what that giving can do not only for the recipient, but for ourselves as well.