Which is more important, to give or to receive? I have always heard to give is divine, but I believe different, I believe they are of equal importance and are interchangeable.
How often have you thought to give to a loved one, to give to a friend or even give empathy to a stranger? It’s a natural feeling, and it makes one feel happy and fulfilled. Now, how do you receive love given to you? I’ll bet it is a much different response.
So often, we give without expecting anything in return. Such a benevolent grace! And is perhaps something you were taught from the time you were young. Yet, being able to accept love with the same sense of gratitude and appreciation feels foreign. How you ‘receive’ is as important to the person ‘giving’ as it is to you. Again, think of how you feel when you give? It fills you with happiness, right? But when someone gives to you, and you receive the gesture with thoughts or impulses to resist the grace being bestowed, you are robbing the giver from receiving his joy. That is why it is so important for all of us to understand the importance of receiving.
Becoming a gracious receiver takes effort; becoming humble and reverent allows others the chance to give with love. So rather than protest “You shouldn’t have…or Oh no, I couldn’t…” try living in the moment. The next time you are on the receiving end of giving, stay present with what is being offered. Let gratitude fill your thoughts. Find the sweetness of acceptance, and let it permeate your being. Once you have accepted the gift or gesture, return a gracious smile to the giver. Then, before your eyes, your giver will become a receiver of your grace, and you will revert back to being the giver of grace…
Hmmm…think about that a bit.
It’s mighty powerful to think of all that love being exchanged! Giving and receiving become one loving occurrence. The Rastas have it right, “One Love”.
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“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”
–Maya Angelou