Im almost frightened to post using my new account because Im a new member

Can someone explain staking to me. Im getting some small amounts of Swift sent to
my wallet. Is this anything to do with my 4000 Swift coins? Is it interest or something?
To put it very simply, when you leave your wallet open for staking you are helping the network out. For doing that, the network rewards you with coins that are equivalent to anual interest based on the amount of coins you have.