We love receiving. That is why we put so much life resources in effort of getting attention, appreciation, gifts and consent. But one day we will discover that no receiving can make us feel happy, and that only when we are giving we feel love to the world and to life.
We are here not only to receive from all the profusion, but to add to it of our own,
we are here not only to enjoy all the beauty but to keep it safe,
we are here not only to live our lives, but to leave a blooming land after we are gone.
Why does giving makes our soul feel bigger, creates such a positive feeling and empowers our motivation to grow and become stronger so much? Not only because giving enables us to experiment in what we have, and not only because giving enables us to leave our mark over our surroundings. The main reason is the feeling of belonging we get by giving, because only when we give we feel we belong to our surroundings.
No animal was gifted with the need to contribute to its surroundings. Contribution to surroundings is a unique human need. And it is not just another need among many: the need to give and to contribute is one of the most powerful signs we have for mental health. And the opposite is also true: lack of will to give and to contribute is the main factor in every mental disorder. Because feeling of belonging is the foundation of our existence.
In our egocentric life, the need to contribute to our surroundings is very little, and that is why feeling of belonging is one of the human qualities we lack the most around us. So many people do not feel any need to give from themselves to their surroundings, although they are very aware of what they receive from their surroundings. And that is why so many people don’t know what it’s like to live a life of happiness.
Because it goes both ways: with an egocentric attitude, no one can feel belonging to their surroundings, and without the feeling of belonging – why would anyone make an effort to give something from themselves? This is the loop that tangles this egocentric generation, and that is why this generation is depressed.
But we are here not only to receive from the world’s profusion, but to add to it from our own, and we are here not only to enjoy everything the world has to give us, but also to participate in strengthening this enormous factory. And the ones who do not contribute to the creation of life, strengthening it and continuing it, cannot be a part of the life’s flow of give and take. And without participating in life’s flow, no one can feel they truly belong to something.
Life is conducting according to fixed rules, and even if we can’t see these rules, we feel very strongly the results once we break them. And the rule is no one can get something free from life, and no one can pay for us the debt we owe for what we get. All of life’s rules object that idea.
So don’t stay outside the circle of life, everyone has something unique to give their surroundings, and if you want to get joy from the world, you have to think well about what you are contributing to the world. That is it, this is the rule: sow before you reap, give before you get.
You have to open a personal account in the bank of the world, and then make sure it is always balanced between giving and receiving, and that for anything valuable you receive, you pay with some kind of service – direct or indirect.
If your balance shows you get more than you give, the supply stream will sooner or later take you out, and you will no longer be a part of it. So don’t forget that when you claim yourselves something you didn’t earn by giving on your behalf, your debt is written in your account, waiting for redemption day.
So give from yourselves to other people. Pay them attention, smile at them and offer your service. That is the only way you will be valuable to life, and that is the only way you will feel valuable.