Giving

It is easy to look upon our busy lives as filled with demands that are being put upon us. The demands of a job ~ or sometimes even several jobs ~ the demands of family, the demands of chores; after all, somebody has to do them…
And pretty soon we are finding ourselves in a position where we may feel that the whole world needs something from us, while we , in return need something from it. As in a salary, a sense of security; whatever it may be.

It can become a push-pull mechanism that leaves us feeling like a ball on the playing field of the universe, without us having any kind of control over our lives…

The funny thing is that the first step to take back at least some of that control ~ to step back into the role of player rather than the ball the game is payed with ~ is deceptively simple. And equally counter-intuitive… It is ‘giving’.

The moment we change our perspective from all of the demands that are taking time, energy, and sometimes even money from us into us giving what is needed, an enormous shift occurs.

We give of our time and our talents, and in return we are given a salary.
We give away (or sell) all the stuff we no longer need, and in return we are given breathing space.
We give to ourselves the time to smell the roses, and in return we find ourselves having more time to do whatever it is we were planning to do.

And while our actual activities may not change that much over a day or a week, because our perspective has changed we have taken back the initiative. We have taken back the power over our lives. Maybe not all at once, yet the more we practice looking at life from the perspective of giving rather than being pushed and pulled by the demands of life, the more empowered we will feel.

Chances are that before long we also will find that we have choices as to what to do; where to give of ourselves and how much. And hopefully we will find that we start giving to ourselves as well; instead of ‘running ourselves ragged’ day after day.

And pretty soon we may even find that we start the day asking ourselves ‘What do I have to give today of my time and my talents, such that old ‘processed’ energy can be used productively, and fresh, new energy can flow into me. Into my home. Into my family…