Our purpose is two-fold. We are here as unique beings to receive something from the world as well as to give of ourselves, that which only we have – a one and only time that this world will ever see, kind of gift. This ain’t no cheesy infomercial for the next great magic wand to whip up a healthy air fried meal for your family in 5 minutes. No, we’re talking the real deal magic that resides in you. I just got goose bumps thinking about it. You are the only one that will ever have walked in your shoes, been born to the family you were born, raised in the town you were raised, and had the same life experiences that you have. Doesn’t it make sense that you’re a one of a kind wonder that will never be ever again? Oy vey! Let’s break open your treasure and see all that gold shine!
How do you perceive receiving? Being the recipient of learning something and receiving this knowledge as a gift is what your soul is eager to take from the time you spend in this life. For me the receiving part has really been what Annie from Annie would call “the hard knock life”. Now, to be clear, I have not had a rough life by any measure. I am extremely grateful for the ease of my life and I do not take it for granted. However, we all learn lessons and those lessons are sometimes hurtful and take time to recover from. What I recall most from the original Annie movie, which I have not seen for many, many years was, first – Annie had red hair and was full of spunk. I reveled in another girl – a girl in the spotlight – having red hair such as myself. Red hair and freckles was not something I saw much of on the big screen growing up, so she was a relatable character for me based on those characteristics alone! I digress. Annie’s life did not begin with nurturing, doting parents, that assured her that everything would be okay. She had a rough childhood, but she always seemed to think that there was something else awaiting her. She kept her head held high for “tomorrow” I know you won’t be able to help yourself, so come on, sing it with me:
When I’m stuck with a day that is gray and lonely, I just stick up my chin and grin and saaaaay – oh the sun will come out tomorrow, so you gotta hang on ‘till tomorrow, come what maaaaay!”
Annie sang this song to cheer herself up in the orphanage. She accepted that life wasn’t always fair, but she had an undying hope that tomorrow would be better. She was resolute in receiving life’s lessons and using those to better understand what it was that she had to offer the world as herself.
Lessons
What have you received throughout your life in the form of lessons? What were you meant to learn? In the learning did you apply it forward – empowering yourself in a future situation or circumstance? I like to think that I have. I know for myself though that I’ve really had to reflect to understand the lesson so I could deliberately apply it when I was faced with a similar situation, sometimes pulling the lesson from the recesses of my brain. Sometimes we just react out of fear or a presiding emotion without allowing ourselves time to conjure up the lessons learned in the past. Yet, if we don’t, we are doomed to repeat those same mistakes, learning the same lessons. Is that not the tune of adolescence? Thankfully our brains mature in time (thank you 20s) and we ride into our 30s with oh-so-many-lessons to employ.
Gifts
In turn what have you recognized as your gifts that you have given and offered as you’ve walked this Earth? When did you realize your special skills? Are you still uncovering them? Of course you are! Throughout our lives we will continue to grow and evolve being influenced by our surroundings and circumstances like a rock in a river constantly being shaped and eroded by the passing water and sediment.
Time is the fair factor
Unlike a rock you are mobile and not reliant on someone picking you up and throwing you or setting you in a different place. As you’ve made your choices, new paths have emerged and you’ve faced more choices, more decisions to ponder. I know that it is easy to fall into overwhelm at times because it seems that there are just too many choices and too many decisions to make and you may just freeze. Time only allows us so much forgiveness and it just keeps on tic tocking into the future while we scream at it to just wait a bit more. As crazy as it may seem to point out – time may be the only fairness that exists in this world. Hear me out. Of course some people exist for longer periods of time than others and we experience extreme grief when a life ends way too soon. We don’t like this and it’s not fair. What I am talking about when I say that time is fair is that each day that we are breathing in air, we are absorbing time and time is a constant and is present at the same speed in my home as it is in China and France. Sure they are in different time zones, but the people residing there have the same number of minutes each day that you and I have. Breathe that in.
I will end with sharing a major and reoccurring lesson I have received and what my gifts are to give and I hope that you’ll do the same in the comments! My major life lesson that I continue to face, but do so now with an understanding that it is my lesson for this lifetime, is patience. I am always practicing patience. Every day. I know that I will never be as patient as a person that came into this world with that gift and I’m okay with that. As long as I understand that this is my lesson, I can embrace it and continue to learn from those moments in which I get to practice. My gift to give in this lifetime is intuition of soul. I feel the energy of other people. There are vibrations that we all emit and with very little effort at all, I pick up on that in the presence of others. Even just thinking about my time with others, I can describe their energy and feel it when I bring them to mind. I knew I had this gift at the age of 5, but didn’t really know what it was and have only been able to describe it now, at 39, because I’ve been trying to define it ever since.
What gold is shining within your treasureable self?