Taking vs. Receiving
There is a vast difference between taking and receiving. There is a way of receiving that is also giving. When I can receive, I act as a willing container for another person's gift. I validate the giver's act of giving and acknowledge his or her generosity. This benefits both the giver and the receiver in equal measure, both are enriched and neither overly depleted.
When I take, I do not acknowledge the gift - rather, I put in the purse of my being that which I want, then snap it shut and go off to take again, hoping that no one notices. This leaves both parties wanting - the giver feels she has been manipulated into giving whether wanting to or not; and the taker - because without receiving a person never really fills up - just continues to feel empty.
I can acknowledge a gift; I can receive.
Developing the muscles of the soul demands no competitive spirit, no killer instinct, although it may erect pain barriers that the spiritual athlete must crash through.
Germaine Greer
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