Ask Me Now...
My grandmother - who died at 103 years old - said, "Ask me now, ask me anything. I'll tell you whatever you want to know."
She was in her late 80's, and I was too young to know what questions to ask or what answers I needed. I was in my 30's, raising my family and running my own business. All was well. Now, I have lots questions! I think the offer from my grandmother to "tell me anything..." worried me. I pushed it away because it meant she wouldn't always be here for me.
She was also inviting me to step out of the busyness and control, through a door to what mattered in real-life. I pushed away this opportunity to receive her wisdom, to truly see her. I couldn't handle the exposure it might bring to her, or to me.
Last week I had my 52nd birthday. I don't care so much about birthdays, except that they make me feel special for a day. I spent most of the day in my garden and that was fantastic. Friends stopped by and called, sending love and good wishes. My children came over with gifts and cookies. I had dinner with friends, drinks with a BFF the night before. The week before I had dinner with my family, and chocolate cake! In the FaceBook world, I received a ton of happy birthday wishes - very cool.
It all made me think about receiving and how much we actually let in. People have a hard time receiving compliments, receiving feedback, receiving love. We often push it away.
Are you going through the motions and barely allowing the abundance?
"Oooh, I love that jacket!" "Oh, this old thing, I got it on sale years ago."
"You rocked that presentation, great work!" "I don't think they liked any of it. Oh well."
"You're really special, you know." "OK thanks, let's get going..."
But here's the kicker! All we ever want is to be seen, heard, and accepted for who we are.
We love appreciation for the things we do. We love to give. We dress for success and want genuine acknowledgement for looking good. So how do these two concepts come together?
We hate to receive, but we love to give.
Experiment. Practice. Experiment. Practice. Experiment. Practice.
Accept a compliment. Just say "Thank you."
Give a compliment. It's like giving free gifts all day long. See how others receive it.
Ask a confidante or supervisor, "How am I doing?" Then sit still while receiving the response.
Ask "How are you?" and wait to listen to for the answer.
Let someone do something nice for you, care for you, in a real way.
Deepak Chopra explains the law of giving and receiving as a dynamic exchange... giving and receiving are different aspects of the same flow of energy. And in our willingness to give that which we seek, we keep abundance circulating in our lives.
Practice for yourself, practice without expecting results... or as Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art, says, "Put your ass where your heart wants to be!"
Today, I'm inviting you to step out of the busyness and through the door to what matters in real-life.