What is your purpose? Do you know? Are you living in alignment with your purpose? I was on a group call last week to discuss this topic, and as I took some notes of what the others were saying, I noticed a common theme. Being a group of leaders and business owners, there was one purpose that we all shared. To help people. Yes, that’s vague. Yes, there are as many ways to help others as there are people in the world. But I just thought it was such a beautiful thing that we were all there for a purpose outside of ourselves. Not for money or fame or glory or power, but to give our time and talents in service of others. 

I’ve seen this a lot over the last couple of years. This desire to serve and support each other, to act in unity and to include and love one another has been echoed out into the world over and over again. And the amazing thing about all of this love intention is that it’s not confined to any one group of people. We share this. Where it breaks down is in the belief that loving others can only look a certain way. That if someone else is choosing to behave differently, it must not be coming from love.

We all have different experiences that teach us what love looks and feels like. Those experiences are unique. I don’t believe that anyone wakes up in the morning and feels called to a purpose of hurting or hating others unless something has gone terribly wrong along the way. We are all called to a purpose that urges love and service. The way we serve is different. And we each have different values and priorities. Love ties it all together.

We are more alike than different.

And I think many of us have been so caught up in the desire to give others what we have, knowledge, products, services, that we have undervalued the importance of receiving. 

In November, I experienced a powerful day of intention setting and energy work. It happened to be 11/11, and if you’re into some of that spiritual and energetic woo stuff like I am, that’s a powerful day for aligning your energy with intentions or whatever. I’m no guru, so look into it more deeply for yourself if you want. Or don’t. I didn’t. That’s just what I’ve heard from people who are way more into it than I am. That morning, I participated in a group reiki session online, something I’d never done before but was curious to see. I’d been busy working on my offers and marketing myself and wanted to make sure that my goals and purpose were aligned. Something was pulling me to shift more toward rest and receiving, so this became my intention for the session and for the rest of the day. Later, I had a 1:1 reiki session, and I was offered some resources to support my healing journey. That same evening, I also happened to receive a trip to Florida and a restaurant gift card. What this told me was that God and the universe are ready to provide when I become ready to receive.

We all want to give. We also want to receive. Of course we do. Those of us who pray often get caught up in petitioning God for solutions to problems or the desires of our hearts and gloss over the gratitude and praises. We often talk ourselves out of appreciating the gifts that are given to us. We look to what we don’t yet have or feel guilty for all that we do because there are so many others out there who have less. We may even convince ourselves that we’re not here to receive at all. We fall into the habit of feeling unworthy and labeling it humility.

But God wants to give abundantly to His children. “Ask and it will be given to you, Seek and ye shall find, Knock and the door will be opened.” Don’t believe in God? The universe is abundant, too, and there is more than enough to go around. 

It’s about flow. If we are constantly pouring out without allowing ourselves to be filled, we become empty, and giving becomes a burden at best, meaningless at worst. This is why I emphasize self-care and simplification. In my practice, we work on prioritizing and alignment with purpose. When both giving and receiving come from that place, our energy flows more smoothly. We receive in order to give in order to receive and give again.

When you give someone a compliment, do you expect or intend for that person to argue with you about how wrong your observation about them is? Of course not! You hope that it will make them smile and feel loved. You hope that they will take that compliment with them and absorb the happy energy and in turn brighten someone else’s day. You expect a smile and a “thank you.”

So why is it that when someone else compliments you, you don’t smile and say, “thank you,” yourself? The generosity of others is the same as your own. You don’t give of yourself for yourself. You give because it’s on your heart to give, to participate in the abundant flow of love that’s all around you. You give to invite others into the circle of your joy. You give because it helps people. How does it feel when someone refuses your gift or offer? 

So when someone else is offering you a heartfelt gift, their time, talents, thoughtful gestures of genuine love, the best way to give back to that person is to receive it with love and gratitude. Sometimes people don’t give in the way that you would, so look for ways that others are making generous offers of their love. Be kind. Remember that the act of receiving can also be a wonderful gift for someone and take some time to rest there.

Have a magical holiday week!