This is a beautiful quote by James Keller that describes the very essence of giving (and receiving) for me. He is saying that when you use the flame of a single candle to light many other candles, that first candle will still be lit. Regardless of how many you light, it could be ten thousand, that first flame will not die. It’s like having more than one child; when you have the second, you do not take love away from the first born in order to find love for the new child and when you have the third – again – you do not take love away from the first two in order to love the third…there is just more love inside of you for all of them. Our love is like the candle’s flame. It has just grown and spread…so capable of giving more. The same thing applies to giving. We may feel that we do not have a lot to give, or we have a fear of giving away everything we have and therefore not having enough for ourselves, but we forget that we each have more than enough to give away to any and all who may need what we have.
Our society today is challenged with a mind set of lack. Giving and receiving freely is no longer a natural norm of life. Somehow, we have been taught that through competition there is not enough to go around of anything. Yet if you have a look at nature, there is more than enough to go around of everything. Even if we are financially challenged, we could give of our time as a donation instead of cash. One of my favorites things to remind people of is:
There is more than enough sunshine for everyone!”
If we look at the sun as an example, each and every soul on this planet experiences the warmth and light of it. It is a natural part of the nature cycle that is known as giving and receiving freely. There are over seven billion of us and yet the sun’s shine has never diminished because we went from one billion to two or three etc. There is just enough for all of us. This is simply how nature is. We can’t count every grain of sand, every leaf, every insect, every blade of grass, every drop of water on the planet earth because there is just so much. This is called abundance. We are born into a life of abundance naturally. It surrounds us every day and in every way. There is so much in nature that we can’t even fathom a number for it! Yet, most people struggle because of a sense of lack. There is this deeply ingrained belief that we need to clutch and hang onto ‘things’. We seem to battle to let go of our accumulations. The spirit of sharing is gone from many walks of life and it would seem to me that is has been replaced with the mentality of ‘each for themselves’.
I am a firm believer that if we feel like we need more of something…anything…then, we should be giving that exact thing away. So, for example, I am not feeling loved. It could be my partner and I are at odds and I no longer feel his love or the connection between us is lost, instead of me feeling unloved and disconnected, I should be the one showing my love to him and re-creating that bond. The minute we give away what we deeply desire, the universe throws it right back at us. Multiplied!
However, having said all of that, I also need to state that I believe in intention too. The only thing that nobody else has privy to is our thoughts. And, it’s our thoughts that create our emotions. So if you give that last monetary note in your purse to the beggar you just passed on the sidewalk but had a negative or lack response go with it, then what you will receive back is exactly the same thing – lack. There can be no thoughts of “This is my last…I have no more for myself…what am I going to do for the rest of the month now” attached to the action. It has to come from a place of abundance. A place of purity – for lack of a better word. The intention behind the action is key.
If you have made the decision to support as many charities as possible because you want more money for yourself, then unfortunately your intention is greed and not a positive one of helping those in need, and so all you will receive back is something negative. We may be able to fool others by not sharing our innermost thoughts, but there is no way that we could ever fool intention. What we give, we receive. What we reap, we sow. There is a reason why all the great texts teach us this.
Whatever you do, do it from a place of abundance. A place of giving and receiving freely. Do it because you truly want to do it. Give with the understanding that you have so much more than just enough to give. Be grateful because you have an abundance to give – just like nature. It does not always have to be material things. It could be that we give of ourselves. Or our love. Time. Respect. Whatever it is that you feel you want, need or desire; give it away. Freely and easily. Then, just let it go and allow everything to be as it should be. Surrender and have faith.
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Yours in Kindness
Taz