We,
Humans,
Often struggle with the concepts of giving and receiving.
We are notoriously unskilled in finding balance.
We sometimes feel selfish when we receive,
Unworthy,
Unable to fully believe that we are lovable,
And while we often find it easier to give than to receive,
Sometimes we give too much,
At the cost of depleting ourselves,
And it may even create feelings of resentment and anger.
Life is a series of holding on and letting go,
Of opening and closing,
Of receiving and giving.
We see this so effortlessly embodied in nature,
In the rise and fall of the sun and moon,
In the cycles of life and death,
How the growth of new life unapologetically absorbs and transforms,
And the decay from death nourishes and restores.
And the breath,
This simple yet awesome process that we literally carry within our chest at all times,
Taking what we need and then giving back to the plants what they need to process and sustain us,
An infinite loop of giving and receiving.
If we hold the breath too long,
There's pressure,
A buildup of carbon dioxide,
A slow poisoning of our cells.
If we exhale too long,
Pushing out more than we have,
We weaken,
We tremble,
We cut off our life source.
The breath,
It knows how to balance.
It knows how to receive and how to give.
We don't need to do anything except allow,
In and out,
Receiving life and giving it back.
I invite you to follow your breath for a few rounds,
Not controlling,
Simply allowing the body to breathe itself in and out,
Receiving and giving.
Notice at the top of the inhale,
There's a tiny pause,
The body absorbing the gift of the breath.
And on the exhale,
Another tiny pause,
The body witnessing the beauty of releasing its gift back into the world,
In and out,
Receiving life and giving it back.
When we don't interfere,
When we trust in the body's innate wisdom,
There is a natural flow of giving and receiving,
Neither more important than the other,
Both vital,
Both sacred.
Sitting here for a moment,
Witnessing your body's wisdom,
Not forcing,
Not controlling,
Not analyzing,
Simply basking in the beauty of giving and receiving.
And now I invite you to ask within,
Where in my life am I taking more than I am giving?
Where am I holding onto that which no longer serves me?
Watch how the breath responds as you bring these aspects of your life to mind.
How does the flow of breath mirror or resist the emotions that arise with your reflections?
And then letting that go for a moment,
Giving yourself grace for being human,
Not beating yourself up,
No shame,
No judgment,
Simply coming back to the support of the breath.
Gently in,
Gently out,
Cradled in the body's wisdom.
And then shifting again to ask,
Where in my life am I giving more than I am receiving?
Where do I overextend or deplete my gifts?
And noticing how the breath responds to this insight.
Then returning to the comfort of the natural breath,
Not judging,
Not beating yourself up,
Allowing your humanness to be held in the grace of the breath,
Balanced and benevolent.
The breath does not judge,
It does not condemn.
It finds its own homeostasis,
Self-correcting,
There to comfort,
There to nourish.
And considering this balance,
This even welcoming that stems from the breath,
Asking yourself,
How can I gently direct my energy to mirror this balance?
That restores me to the natural and healthy rhythm of giving and receiving.
We don't need to make big,
Sweeping changes in our lives to self-correct.
In fact,
We don't need to make any changes if we're not ready.
We can simply allow the breath to guide us,
Comfortably and gently,
To our own rhythm.
Action and inaction,
Opening and closing,
Finding grace for each step.
In and out,
Receiving life and giving it back.
