Tis the Season to Receive
'Tis the Season to give; we all know that. The old adage that it is better to give than to receive has been drilled into our very core ever since we were big enough to have our mother pry the last cookie from our sweaty little palm to give to our kid brother, sister, cousin...fill in the blank.
My point is, most people I know, and especially women, have the giving thing down pat. They are the ones who prepare the meals and eat last; or drive miles and miles every week taking everyone else where they need to go and never going where they would like to go; or who buy the kids new school clothes, including ridiculously priced tennis shoes that are the current craze while a safety pin is holding their bra together.
Don't get me wrong, a world full of nothing but receivers would not be a very merry place. But we live in a Universe of contrasts. There is a distinct, but necessary, balance at work here -- dark and light, front and back, Yin and Yang, ebb and flow. But many of us have acquired the bad habit of cutting ourselves off from receiving with the mistaken notion that it is noble or righteous. For instance, if you are one to deflect a simple, genuine compliment with a barrage of reasons why you do not deserve it, I imagine that you are already an expert at "flowing" (giving). But now it is time for you to "ebb" (receive) a little.
An essential and natural part of Receiving is Allowing. As Esther and Jerry Hicks share in their book Ask and It is Given, Learning to Manifesting your Desires, "There is an unlimited Stream of Well-Being and an abundance of all manner of things available to you at all times, but you must be in alignment with the receiving of those things. You cannot stand in resistance of them and receive them at the same time." They also describe the three-step process of Creating as:
"Step 1 (your work): You ask.
Step 2 (not your work): The answer is given.
Step 3 (your work): The answer, which has been given, must be received or allowed
(you have to let it in)."
The great news is, the underlying benefit of receiving is that it is a signal to the Universe that you are open to receiving MORE. So I am giving you permission to receive. "Who are you to do that?," you say. And my witty comeback is "You're right. I am nobody to you." We've never met; we don't get together for coffee; or have neighborly chats across the fence. So that leaves you. YOU are the ONLY one who can give yourself permission to receive all the good that you can imagine for yourself. YOU are good enough, smart enough, creative enough, powerful enough, WORTHY enough, just as you are with all of the faults and flaws that you perceive yourself to possess.
I am not suggesting that you deny yourself the pleasure of gifting your loved ones with their hopes and dreams this Holiday Season; but while you're shopping, maybe you could slip into Victoria's Secret and give yourself a little support at the same time!
Author Info -
Mary Jo Shaffer is a freelance writer who lives and works in a small town in Ohio.
 
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