Giving and Getting

There are a couple of ways of thinking about being in the world.

The first is to look at the world as a bunch of things that you do not have now, but that if you work really hard, you can get. This is the list approach to life and success. You are here and life is there and life has all the good stuff and you don't really have much of anything yet. In this view, you are empty and will not be happy until you are full.

The second is to see all the gifts that you already have--the talents that you have been blessed with, the love that you can share, the warmth of your presence, the essence of your very soul--and to see life as an opportunity to share those gifts. What is it that you really enjoy doing? What is it that you really enjoy sharing with other people?

The fact is that there are a lot of people who you already know who spend time with you not because they have to, but because they really want to. Have you ever asked your friends, or your best customers or clients, what they love about you? Do you even know what those gifts are that you are already giving, that you are already sharing?

Many people see life as a game in which the one who ends up with the most stuff wins. And there is nothing wrong with that. But try, just for today, to see how much you can give to other people, not as a way to get stuff, but just for the sheer joy of giving, just because at the deepest level, it feels good. And imagine how you would feel if you could live your life more and more from that place of already having all you need, and where all you do is give from that place.

Jeff