Living, Giving, Sharing, Receiving!

        Hehe I actually thought I had composed this post, already, and went to be sure and...

        ...nope.  Obviously not.

        Best get on with it, then, hmm?

Week 9?  

Really?  

I've actually kept at this for over 2 months, now?

Go me!

        Sometimes, I kinda have to either smirk or chuckle (depending on my mood) when I read these sections Christine has outlined in her book.  For one thing, on first glance, some of them seem like I could give very similar answers, and often just reflecting what I do here with the PB Project.  This week is no exception, though naturally I'm going to reach and do a bit better than just say, "But I've answered this already."  Because there is a reason each one is (even slightly) different!  So...

"We make a living by what we get,

we make a life by what we give."

~ Winston Churchill

And after her personal reflection, she asks this question:

What can you give to others this week?

        Okay, well, this week happens to have been a bit of a brighter week for me.  Perhaps simply due to it being a somewhat more of a quiet week, in terms of no major, massive invasions of body, mind nor life (that I can recall).  There were a few issues, and some disappointments, but generally, my psyche seems to have been settling into its new existence, as it always does.  So...I'm feeling a bit brighter, all-around, as I see the sunlight deciding to stick around a bit more, every day, and have the chance to get out in it a bit more due to the returning warmth.  My (actual) prescription of 20 minutes of sunshine, directly on the skin, will soon do wonders for my body, mind and "spirit".  

        

        However, this post is not a health promotion website, in that particular way, so feel free to research the benefits of Vitamin D and sunlight.  

        Moving on...

        I've had a lot of conversations, recently, about whether or not we as individuals are "worthy" of receiving, be it love, gifts, rest, etc..  I'm not exactly sure why modern culture (or at least the one in which I live, locally and globally) appears to propagate this idea that we are not worth anything, unless it is what we give.  Personally, it annoys me that we have developed this idea that we cannot embrace our own, personal worth without doing something "wrong".  

        Of course I realize that taking this perspective on this post actually seems to go against the grain, but I think this actually applies to the answer.  Because how can we be a society of only giving, but never receiving?  Do we actually have a healthy, mutually-beneficial community, if we only give and refuse to accept the gifts that are offered to us?  How can that work?

        So all of this wordy post actually comes down to this answer:  I believe that often, the best gift we can offer to someone else, is simply to be willing to graciously and gratefully receive what they have to offer.  It can be difficult, frightening and disconcerting to believe that we have anything to offer anyone else.  It can also be difficult, frightening and disconcerting to believe that anything anyone else has to offer will help, especially when that offer includes doing something for us.  If we have been disappointed in the past, it can be especially so, when we are in a place where things are generally challenging as it is, and trying to be willing to accept "help" or some other form of gift can seem like too much to bear.

        I get it.  I really do.  If I didn't, would I be bringing this up?

        So many of us are naturally giving-oriented.  We feel a sense of satisfaction that can reach the point of actually nourishing our sense of self and well-being.  And we sometimes feel that accepting something others might offer would negate our ability to stand tall and feel adequate as human beings.  But what if we could realize that those who offer us something, might just feel the same sense of satisfaction and nourishment that we experience?  Could we see that in accepting something from someone else, we actually offer a gift in return?  Would we not feel that something as well, if our own offers and gifts were accepted so graciously?

        Therefore, I think that if we are able to reciprocate in some way, even once in a while, so that it does not become a constant one-way directional relationship, being willing to mutually give and receive is a great step toward healthy, balanced relationships.  Which is a gift in and of itself.

        There you go.  Take it or leave it. :)

        Better days ahead, my friends.