Giving

There is a well known saying, “It is in the giving that we receive”. The way I heard the saying actually sounded more like if you give you will receive, in other words the giving was conditional, it felt loaded.. This started me thinking - what does it mean to really give? So often there are strings attached, conscious or unconscious.For most our intension in giving is generally wholehearted, but perhaps we attach some condition to it. For example, we give a gift of money out of the generosity of our heart but perhaps we have some idea of how we would like to see the money used. We may actually exert a little control over the gift. Or perhaps we offer to help, like helping a friend or relative move and down deep we think perhaps if I have to move they will help me. If this is the spirit of our giving then all that we receive is the hope the receiver will do or act the way “we think they should”. It is conditional. In these cases I think we miss the essence of the saying “it is in the giving we receive”. There is a much subtler, less tangible quality that happens when we just give, no strings attached. For me there is a pure sense of satisfaction, a validation of what it means to walk the talk of how we are all connected. It is worth remembering that our roots all share the dirt, the same earth. So when we reach out to one another and unconditionally give from our heart we touch another’s life, bringing joy or perhaps comfort, relief from stress, to name but a few… .It is a gentle and kind reminder of our inter connectedness. I believe that it is such true and honest connections with one another that make life meaningful.. . And so the pondering of this saying, “It is in the giving we receive” is causing me to look more closely at my giving, my possible conscious or unconscious motives and work consistently towards giving from a spirit of true giving with no strings attached.