There is still so much more to give…

The old analogy is that life is about give and take. And frankly, it is. It is the law of nature for there to be perfect harmony; two equal and opposite forces working together, constantly and each at its own time.

In society, we have been taught this principal of equality; what we give, we should receive back. That we should not give any more when he have nothing to give, or no strength to give. Or we should not give any more because we are not receiving.

But what about the quality of what it is we give? If we give a hug, should we receive the equal? If we love someone, are we right to expect the same love in return? Do we only give as much as we want to return?  Society is very much enthralled in the concept of quantity and not quality. We want ‘value for money’, a ‘return on our investment’, a ‘bang for our buck’. This is why we are only concerned with what we will receive for our trouble, and not the quality of what we are giving.

Two ideas come into play here. Living in the present and giving in the present. If we are concerned with what we will get, we concern ourselves with future outcomes that for some elusive reasons may or may not happen. We are inhibiting the giving, because we are already measuring the worth of our future return. To give and expect equal on return, is to shape your giving so as to try and influence the outcome. It is to be quantitative and not qualitative.

To be giving in the present, we must concern ourselves with what quality we wish to offer for the world, from the goodness of our hearts and not from the emptiness we wish to fill upon return. To give and give and give, and feel that we can keep on giving, is a true blessing. To be an endless wellspring of giving, offering, contribution with the pure attitude of non-attachment is a virtue that needs to be practised and developed daily.

It is in this way that the law of nature works. To be so concerned with giving in a non-attached way as to almost forget about receiving, is not naïve or wearying; it is truly gratifying. Because for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

What I have personally noticed, is when we are not receiving what we want, when we are so focused on the ‘getting’ that we adjust the ‘giving’, it is purely because we are not giving quality. We acknowledge the lack we feel in ourselves, and dwell on it, rather than attempting to give more to the experience. A concept of Zen teacher John Daido Loori is if we practise non-attachment, we increase and experience unity. Unity is to focus on heightening experience and not to get too involved in the processes of how, when, what and why.

My goal and focus for the coming months is to focus on what I can give and offer to my experiences and in turn, through quality giving what unity I can create.

Copyright ©SoulSurfer 29 October 2012 at 10.26am