Something magical happens when people come together with the intention of giving and sharing versus getting and receiving.
Think about the morning of a gift exchange. If all people come together leading with the intention of giving and sharing—it’s magical. Everyone gives… yet everyone leaves with more than they gave. Which is even true if they happened to receive something, too. The total of what’s given is greater than the total of the individual gifts. Magical—I know.
…When people come together leading with the intention of getting and receiving, however, the outcome changes dramatically. Even at the same gift exchange mentioned above… if the person’s focus is on themself and purely what they’re getting out of the exchange… the magic disappears. The total of what results is equal to or even less than the sum of the individual parts. Magic gone.
I met up with some friends this past weekend to discuss a trip we’re planning on taking together. This was not a gift-giving occasion by any means… yet tons of gifts were exchanged.
We all showed up with the intention of giving and sharing with each other… and a magic took over the evening. We shared food. We gave conversation. We shared laughs. We gave attention. We shared stories. We gave kindness. We shared games. We gave memories…
What resulted was worth exponentially more than the individual words and actions we took. And had we shown up with the intention of getting taken care of and/or receiving entertainment… the energy would’ve been drastically different that night.
Magic gone.
Same night.
Simple change in intention.
Maybe give it a try at your next gathering of people.