There is a joy to giving and there is a joy to receiving. It feels good to be able to help another; it feels good to receive a gift as well. Some of us may be more comfortable being the giver, some with being the receiver. If we lean towards either end of the spectrum, our interactions and our relationships can slip off balance.
Some find it hard to receive without feeling the need to give back in equal measurements. It’s like exchanging gifts on Christmas rather than getting gifts on your birthday. If you’re receiving from someone you care about, it’s likely you’ve already given them a lot and so the exchange happens organically. Allowing a natural flow of giving and receiving helps to build trust in relationships.
Sometimes we are receiving a lot and yet not realizing it. Some of us are so comfortable with the story that we give more than we get, we don’t appreciate it as much when others are giving to us. Simply being more mindful of when we do receive can begin changing the narrative in our minds and in how it plays out in our lives.
When we receive with joy, our conscious and subconscious agree on one thing: we feel worthy.
Allowing someone else to give us something we value is an act of acknowledging our value in the world. Sometimes it comes from someone we know well, sometimes it is a surprise from someone we don’t. Regardless, when I receive, I take the energy of that love and place it in my heart. This way, I carry with me a constant reminder of the potential we all carry within and that connects us all. This is what we mean to each other.