Most of us are comfortable giving something out in the world. When we achieve success, we like to give back either to the society, to family, to friends or to humanity depending on how big our heart is. Our natural state of being is to give and we love when we give as it gives us satisfaction and happiness but we don’t realise that in order to keep giving, we also must be ready to receive. We all know that the more we give, the more we receive as the law of attraction will work its magic and we will have far more to give but what we fail to understand that if we just give and give and if we are not open to receive then the flow can’t continue and soon we will start feeling drained. This is not only true for physical things but also for nonphysical entities like emotions, energies and feelings.
The idea is simple. We have to fill ourselves before we can give anything out in the world so we must be open to receive as well. We cannot pour from an empty cup. Many people feel uncomfortable receiving and childhood conditioning may be the reason behind it. Often parents insist that children share their personal belongings with others and give gifts to other people/children rather than focusing on receiving hence receiving from other people becomes an alien concept and as a result such children do not understand the importance of being open to receiving. Also, we are more focused on giving our best either in our education, career, relationship or anything in general and that further reinforces the idea of giving and that indicates that achievements are linked to giving.
When we are not open to receiving, we risk feeling empty or burnt out. It is important that we feel fulfilled and that is only possible if we are open to receiving. When someone offers us help, we deny as most of us are conditioned to be independent and it is often seen as a sign of being incapable or dependent but in reality we all need each other and we should not be afraid of asking for help or at least be open to receive help. When we deny help, others feel uncomfortable and automatically they keep distance from us as they feel disrespected and that is something most of us do unknowingly. I know there are plenty of people who take advantage of other people’s generosity but also there are plenty of people who deny other people’s genuine offering of help. We must not be ashamed or hesitant to receive help and by doing that we build a solid foundation of great long lasting relationships with other people as denying help that has been offered can often be seen as impolite or egoistic.
We all know that giving is satisfying but for the act of giving, there must be a receiver. It is the other person who accepts our help that makes us feel satisfied or happy hence there is nothing wrong in accepting once in a while. By accepting something, you give respect to the other person and enable the other person to feel good and this happens so subconsciously that we fail to even notice or realise. Without a receiver, there cannot be a giver. If we deny help or are not in receiving mode, slowly we stop getting also. Many people don’t feel that they are worthy of receiving and that has nothing to do with who they are or what they do. They are often the most generous, genuine and gorgeous people who are stuck in negative self-belief that they may have received from someone in their weak and vulnerable moments in their life and they hold such belief until they wake up to reality and begin to see things in a different light.
Let us do a small reality check. Think, when someone gives you a compliment about your dress, your hair, your talent, your skill or anything, do you just shrug off or you take it graciously. We may have been taught in our childhood to be down to earth or polite when someone compliment us and that might have been done in order to keep our ego under control and prevent us from becoming arrogant or proud but when we shrug off a compliment, people stop giving us as you have not validated their opinion and questioned their judgment and unknowingly you have closed door for receiving any compliment from the same person in the future. Slowly, when other people notice, they also stop giving compliments. All this happens unknowingly and unconsciously. Hence, it is important to be open to receive a compliment. Often such behaviour can also be seen as lack of confidence and low self-esteem which may be quite detrimental for your image and self-development. We are judged all the time and such behaviour can leave a negative impression about you in other people’s minds and you may not even be aware of it. When we accept a compliment, we are unknowingly saying that we love ourselves and we are open to receive more as we are honouring and respecting not only ourselves but we are glad that other people have acknowledged the same and we are grateful for them. These are simple and highly effective ways to not only build self-confidence and self-esteem but also enable us to live a happy, fulfilled and satisfied life.
Spiritually, the law of giving and receiving works simultaneously and in perfect synchronization. Even though we are focused on being independent, we are all connected to every other person in the world and no one is isolated or unaffected by others in the world even though we may not realise this fact. We all give and receive all the time and it is the giving and receiving that makes our lives fulfilled and we experience the real essence of being. Hence, next time if someone gives something positive, be open to receive and with a smile.
Parul Rana 