How many times has someone given you a compliment and you have responded with a rebuke? Tell the truth. How many times do people try to give something to you and you respond with anger, pain, or self-effacement? [continued below picture]
Responding to gifts from others in these ways is entirely too common. If you do not respond this way to people trying to contribute to your life you are among a preciously small group of people. This is because receiving is hard to accept if you don’t believe you deserve it, or if the gifts come in the form of helpful tips about things in yourself you don’t want to acknowledge.
Receiving is truly one of the master tools of life. Receiving is your birthright. The first thing that happened to you when you were born was to receive: food, shelter, and hopefully love.
What you may not realize is that the people around you WANT to give to you, but they cannot if you won’t receive. And, truthfully, if you do not accept their gifts you are working against their mission to give.
This week listen to the people around you and acknowledge with grace and joy when others try to give to you. These may be physical gifts, but they may also be comments, ideas, introductions, or simple bits of love. What matters is that you loosen up on life and let it flow to you.
