In this season, many of us give, but do we also receive? Receiving is as much an expression of generosity as is giving.  Giving expresses the release of holding and clinging, while receiving expresses that attitude which accepts what is offered and so transforms our aversive tendency to reject experience.

Although at first it looks as though it should be easy, receiving can also be difficult for us. How often have we refused something offered to us that we would actually have liked to receive?  Have you noticed how sometimes it can be hard to receive praise and not contradict it? Do you receive gratitude without saying “it was nothing?” Of course it is wonderful when receiving a gift to be moved to make an offering in return, and it’s wise to take praise with a pinch of salt. But we can be very conditioned to need everything to be an exchange, and be uncomfortable in just receiving.

To receive what is freely offered, requires a degree of humility and vulnerability.  We can learn not to impede the flow of the natural generosity that is an organic expression of our interconnectedness.