I once read the saying ‘Work to get, give to receive’,
and it came to mind today when I had a wonderful ‘aha’ moment,
as a cascade of revelation sprang from one simple moment of self–
realisation.
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The understanding came upon me that I tended to approach most things – new circumstances, opportunities, people or situations – with a basic stance of getting rather than of giving. ‘What might be in it for me?’ was the theme that ran through my approach to these things – be it meeting someone for the first time, getting a pet, joining a network or group, or whatever. Yet is that the way that we human beings should really go on? What a paradigm shift it would be if I were to approach all these things with the question instead ‘What might I be able to give into this?’ In thinking this through I saw that to come from a stance of offering, giving, making things better for another person or situation, is a complete 180–degree turnabout, and one which calls for firstly having a settlement in self, about self, and about where one is going in life. Else how do we have things to offer or to give into the situation or to other people? I realized that this in itself is a main thread of my journey through life – the wish to have the kind of deep–seated and throughout security in myself that allows a well-being and harmony in my life; a source, as it were, from which generosity could spring. And then I understood that it is those moments of selfless giving, of truly wanting to help another, of pure altruism, that a real satisfaction and settlement can come – the fulfillment and pleasure of having helped another or having added something of value. Thus giving to receive.. This also works in a reverse way – when I meet new people, is my approach one of protecting myself from the potential harm they may do me, which evokes qualities such as suspicion or hostility; or is my approach rather one of ensuring that I do no harm to them, thus evoking care and sensitivity? So ‘work to get, give to receive’ started to make sense in a new perspective – that my work is to undertake the self–development and spiritual journey to bring into myself refined qualities such as trust, hope, faith, settlement and harmony, so that I can then in turn offer these to others. And in giving to others in an authentically altruistic way will more of those finer qualities find their way to me. What a great system the universe works by! |
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