Giving and Receiving

I have had lots of experiences over the course of my life, all of which have taught me lessons in one way or another. I want to share this insight with the hope that you will draw lessons from it and improve your life for the better. It would be my joy to know that I impacted someone else’s life through my experiences and the interactions which I have made with various people over the years.

One thing that stands out with regards to giving and receiving was an interaction I had with a friend of mine many years back. he is an individual whom I had always looked up to and over the years, I have learned a lot from him. He once told me:
“Dedy, there are two kinds of people in this world. One is a giver and the other is a taker. The giver is always asking questions, ‘what can I give you?’ ‘How can I be of service to this situation and to this person? ‘The taker, on the other hand, will ask questions such as, ‘What is in it for me?”
These words allowed me to do some soul searching. Of course, I had heard the words before. However, they did not carry as much weight as they did when coming from my friend. For the first time in my life, my perspective about giving and receiving was changed. I understood what nature was all about and simple aspects which made life worth living. Notably, nature is all about giving. Nature itself is a generous giver, and there is beauty in that. just take a look at your immediate environment. The trees give you the air you breath. The streams give you water, the birds give you something good to wake up to every day. Nature is all about giving.

There is something about giving and interacting with a giver. As a giver, one can always sense when another person shares the same perspective about giving. It is more like a guitar. The words and actions of a giver are like the sound of a properly tuned guitar in the hands of a skilled player. It is music to one’s ears and it soothes the heart. A taker, on the other hand, is like a poorly tuned guitar or one that is not tuned at all. Everything is out of tune and do you know why? It is because such a person is also out of tune with mother nature. Nature also has a way of paying you back for your kindness. Give and it will be given to you. For my Christian friends, the Bible in Luke 6:38 states:
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

I could paraphrase this and say; your outflow greatly determines your inflow. Your giving will determine the abundance in your life.
I consider myself and avid reader and one book that has stood out for me and one that I would recommend you to read is A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. There is a specific quote in the book where he stated that:
“Acknowledging the good that is already in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”
Taking this quote into consideration, one begins to appreciate that sheer abundance is all around us. Just look at the sky, sunlight, the air we breath and your magnificent body, everything is all in abundance. Once we choose to acknowledge those things which are already present in our lives, we begin to appreciate the fullness of life itself. It starts from within, which is why I am encouraging you to take a closer look at who you are and what you have, and you will forever live in abundance.

A teacher from a long time ago once said:
“For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
I later came to learn that it was from the book of Matthew 13:12, and it dawned on me that there is value in giving and being generous in all things both material and immaterial. Give, my friend, and give whatever you have. It could be your time, knowledge, or something as simple as your attention. Just keep giving it, and you will keep getting more. Once again, your outflow will always determine your inflow. And this outflow could be in any shape or form.

When you smile to a stranger in the street, consider yourself to be a giver. When you compliment that kid in the park, you are also a giver. Ask yourself frequently, “What can I give here?” “How can I be of service to this person or to this situation?” It does not always have to be something material and always remember that abundance only comes to those who already have it. Be grateful for what you have in your life and it will grow in abundance as time progresses. Just give whatever you have and watch the greater good come to your life. - Dedy Ti’en