Ultimately it is about finding that sacred balance between not wanting too much either to only give, or to only receive.

Teachers from various Traditions have spoken of the art of receiving; that learning to receive is an important step in connecting to our Higher Self. It may not be only working hard or being a more deserving person that draws good things towards us, rather, it begins with the process of ‘allowing’. Perhaps we could reflect on the strange possibility that we may be allowing into our lives less than 2 per cent of the good things that Higher Self offers.

A sermon i once heard from a Christian pastor suggested that when Jesus called us to ‘become as little children’ to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, he meant that we should learn to receive as they do. “Children can teach us a thing or two about simple, joyful receiving,” she said. “They hardly ever feel they have to earn the gift or are obliged to pay you back. They just accept. It’s a form of surrender. That’s how one enters the kingdom.”

A Buddhist teacher in Thailand invited us to consider that in order to have a great life, you not only have to discern your needs from your greed, but you also have to be humble enough to ask for what you need, and more importantly you also need to understand that the way you habitually receive often determines what you will receive in the future.

There’s a danger of getting caught up in our own ideas of what it means to be generous and so losing sight of what this principle of generosity is really about ^ which is experiencing our interconnectedness in both the outgoing and inflowing energy of genuine reciprocity.  - Marguerite Theophil

The writer is a Mumbai-based consultant, personal growth coach and workshop leader.