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The Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest taught me a lot of things, including how to share community funds for housing/food, how to enjoy life on a $100 monthly stipend, and how to simply say “thank you” when someone gives you an incredible gift.
Many of us (🙋🏻) have a tendency to subconsciously keep tabs on the gifts we receive, financial or otherwise. We’ll quickly find a way to rebalance the generosity scale. For some of us, giving gifts is actually pretty easy, but RECEIVING gifts throws us all out of wack. We hesitate, feel guilty/unworthy, refuse a gift, or quickly skip over the vulnerability involved in allowing someone else to sincerely care for us by instantly matching their gift.
But in the ebb and flow of giving and receiving, both actions are equally as meaningful. Experiencing and expressing pure gratitude while relishing in the wonder of another person’s generosity is a powerful thing. It is a beautiful way to honor the other person’s intention to give YOU a gift, no strings attached.
If this resonates with you, allow yourself to ditch the score card and start finding all of life’s little opportunities to practice receiving just as freely as you give. Thank you Mallory, Rachel, Caroline, Dana, and Andrew for paying for my wisdom tooth extraction with me 6 years ago when I could not do it alone. What a glorious gift! (I still have the tooth--turned it into a necklace).
