I’m a big believer in signs, so when three different people mentioned a blog that I wrote in 2011 it was an amazing opportunity to reflect on the book “The Giving Tree” which has impacted much of my life.
Here are some new insights on giving and receiving. Most of us, including myself, get angry at the little boy as we read the story. Why? Honestly, most of us get angry when people seem to ask for things and get what they want. All the while, secretly, that’s what we truly want to be able to do. So many of us are caught up in this crazy triangle between power, love and money.
What if the tree is God (Divine, Spirit, Bob, etc.) and the boy is just doing what the Divine gives us the power and grace to do — receive?
What if the tree and the boy aren’t in this co-dependent relationship around power, love and receiving? What if the tree isn’t keeping score? What if the little boy isn’t taking advantage of the tree at all?
Then it hit me. What if I could be both the tree and the boy – receive and give generously? What beliefs would I have to let go of to live by that mantra? What would I have to let go of that doesn’t serve that powerful abundance belief?
So often in our lives and businesses, the decision-maker for our abundance is not the part of us that knows we are loved, supported and provided for; it is that part that is afraid there will never be enough. This leads to us doing things we regret and often to more pain and suffering; yet there is a better way. It is the way of the boy and the tree.
Our lives would be completely transformed if we simply ask ourselves before we make a decision or express ourselves, “Am I giving and receiving generously?”
What are some ways that you want to receive and give generously, and why? Here are some ideas: start a scholarship fund in your company, donate a percentage of your income to a local non-profit, or plan a day where the whole company volunteers to help others.
Remember to declare big when it comes to receiving. It’s not about goals, it’s about welcoming in what you want to experience.
The final line of “The Giving Tree” is simple and profound, “And, the tree was happy.”
