The gift is entrusted to us for safe keeping, for nurturing and development and ultimately for expression. But it is not our gift per se. We are the giver of the gift, not the creator of it. The gift comes from Spirit. It merely comes through us.
Both giving and receiving require openness and trust in the process as it unfolds.
All gifts carry an energy and an intention. Let us trust this and let the gift do its work. It is impossible to give the gift and hold onto it at the same time. To give it, we must let it go.
We cannot evaluate the gift. That is not our job. Our job is simply to give the gift freely, without strings attached.
Its value will become clear in time, first to others, and then maybe to us. For all that we give returns to us sooner or later.
Let us lay our expectations down now and trust the process. That is the best attitude we can bring to service.
We cannot know who will come and be served and who will come and find the branches bare. That is not up to us.
Breathing in, we accept what comes. Breathing out, we let it go. Acceptance and surrender are the engines of grace in this world. Let us submit to them and save ourselves a lot of struggle.
The gift is not given to benefit us, but to benefit others. Of course, if it benefits others, it will eventually benefit us. But don’t hold your breath! And don’t give to get back because that doesn’t work.
Whatever we become attached to becomes a cross that we must bear. At first it may appear to be a pedestal that we mount to great veneration and applause, but it won’t be long before we have to drag that heavy lumber with us up the hill. That’s when we realise it is not a pedestal but a cross, and the people who have come to watch are not our fans, but our enemies.
Our gift is given not to lift us up, but to uplift others. If we try to make it be about us, instead of about them, we will turn the gift into a spear that will aggravate our wound of unworthiness.
If that happens, let’s try to learn from it. Some of us have to revisit the wound in powerful ways in order to finally heal it.
*Embracing Our True Self – by Paul Ferrini*