Giving is the easy part.
Giving means you have more than you need and you’re able to offer others some of what you have.
Of course, not everybody wants to give for the right reasons. Some want to give to manipulate—so others will be indebted to them and they can be owed.
But for many, this isn’t the case at all.
Many want to give simply because it makes them feel great inside; because it satisfies their nurturing nature; because they genuinely feel blessed, know what it’s like to suffer, and want others to suffer less.
Genuine giving is one of the most beautiful experiences on the planet for both the giver and receiver.
What most people don’t talk about, however, is the difficulty (and importance) of receiving.
For some, it’s because they’ve been manipulated through gifts and don’t want to be indebted to others—which is a terrible shame. For others, it’s because nurturing is in their nature and being a receiver of nurturing feels against their nature. And for others still, receiving conflicts with pride—it creates a sense of guilt because they weren’t able to acquire “enough” on their own.
But, without receiving there can be no giving.
And while it may seem like a prideful, honorable, noble thing to do—to reject gifts—it often can have the opposite effect. Once trust is established in the genuineness of the gifts (and it isn’t manipulative), receiving wholeheartedly becomes (what most people miss) a gift (and a damn beautiful one at that) in and of itself.
P.s. In case you missed it, you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.