Is Giving Really Better Than Receiving?

A friend recently brought up an interesting question about whether it is really better to give than to receive. My immediate reaction was that I knew the answer to that. As a child I had followed my parents’ guidance, often under duress, that giving is better than receiving. While the concept was now ingrained in me, I realized that I had never really thought it through.

My friend’s question and the discussion that followed were based on the fact that the Law of Attraction is at work in both giving and receiving. The Law of Attraction means that like attracts like; you plant a carrot seed you get a carrot, or you send out positive thoughts and they are returned to you.

She explained that while most people think of giving as involving material things like money or food, the Law of Attraction is linked with the thought and emotion behind the words or action.

I immediately wondered how this concept would apply to what I recently experienced with a friend. I heard he was in the hospital having quadruple bypass surgery, would be unable to work for months and thus was facing an extreme life situation. I was also told by a friend that he lacked adequate insurance, would never be able to return to his former job, and needed help paying the rent.

Naturally, I didn’t hesitate. I sent a check. I saw a need and answered it in an appropriate way, right? Well, not totally, according to my friend. She said I focused on the sadness I felt for my friend and the lack he was experiencing. This prompted my action of sending money. The thought I was sending to my friend was that he wasn’t capable of taking care of himself. Evidently I was perpetuating his lack by the underlying feelings and thoughts I held at the time.

She said the ideal course of action would have been to get clear on my thoughts and feelings, and to focus on holding positive thoughts for this person’s health and prosperity. Once the positive thoughts were firmly established, then and only then should I offer the individual whatever I was inspired to give or to do.

Also, in the process of holding positive thoughts for health and abundance for the other person, I would be attracting the same energy vibration back into my life. I realized it could not be otherwise, as like attracts like.

Giving and receiving really is a reciprocal activity. It is up to us to decide to give with conscious awareness so that the results are desirable for the recipient and the giver.

This adds a wonderful new dimension to giving, as it confirms what every child has always known—that receiving is as good and desirable as giving.
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Copyright 2007 by Fern Stewart Welch

The author’s book THE HEART KNOWS THE WAY—How to Follow Your Heart to a Conscious Connection with the Divine Spirit Within is available from Amazon.com, other online booksellers, and through major bookstores such as Barnes & Noble and Borders.