Day 187: Giving Is Proof of Having

As I continue to unpack the stuff I brought to the motorhome, I realize I will give away a good percentage of it.

There is a local charities I can give things to or I can give it to the workers that help me with projects.

It constantly amazes me how much I have to give away when I've been doing it for so many years.

Where does it all come from?

Or is it that I continue to realize I need less and less.

It's not that I'm trying to become minimalist.

That's not really the point.

It's more that every time my life changes, I can feel what still belongs and what doesn't.

Some things still feel like me while others feel like another version of me.

And some things just feel complete.

The more simple my life becomes, the happier I am.

Some people take things to consignment shops or hold garage sales, I give things away.

It makes me happier.

There's something about seeing someone else happy with something I no longer need that feels right to me.

Like the energy of that thing gets to keep moving instead of sitting in a box somewhere.

Even when I was younger and so frequently the top salesperson, it was never really about the money.

It was about being the best at helping people find what they wanted to buy.

I loved that moment when something clicked and they knew, "Yes, this is what I was looking for."

Maybe that's why I don't feel drawn to big promotions the way some people do.

My products and services are here, on the new Truth Threshold site.

But what matters most to me is this.

This communication.

This daily practice of sharing what I'm learning, seeing, remembering, and living.

The most important thing for me is my communication with you and sharing what I've learned over the years.

Then in today's A Course in Miracles lesson I read that no one can give unless he has. In fact, giving is proof of having.

That stopped me because the world teaches us to look at giving as subtraction.

If I give this away, I have less money, time, energy.

But spiritually, giving is not subtraction, it's circulation.

It's evidence that something has already been received and now wants to move through us.

The 'he has' part struck me. We can only give, in any capacity because it's already been given to us. We have received and now it's time to fulfill the other half by giving.

It's the way life works, a constant giving and receiving.

Like breathing.

We inhale.

We exhale.

We receive.

We extend.

When one side stops, the flow gets interrupted.

We all have so much to give, whether it's our time, our love, our financial support, or our expertise.

And sometimes what we have to give is even quieter than that.

A kind word.

A calm presence.

A perspective someone couldn't find on their own.

A reminder that they are not as lost as they feel.

The world looks at giving things away as losing something.

But when you give away an idea it only strengthens it.

It becomes clearer because it has been shared.

It becomes more alive because it has moved from one heart to another.

These emails are proof of that.

I write to you sharing what I see as the message of my spiritual practice each morning and how it relates to real life, and by doing so I often discover a deeper message for my own life.

I may sit down thinking I understand what the lesson is about.

Then as I write, another layer opens.

Something I didn't know I knew becomes clear.

Something I thought I was offering to you comes back and teaches me.

I get the same warm fuzzy feeling inside when I hear how these emails impact your life as I do when I see people happy leaving with the things I'm giving away.

It all goes full circle. What you give comes back to you in a different form, but the energy comes back. Always.

Today's Gentle Practice

Look around your life today and notice one thing you may be ready to give.

It might be something physical. Something in a drawer, a closet, a cabinet, or a box that no longer feels like it belongs to this version of your life.

Or it might be something less tangible.

A kind word.

A note of encouragement.

A little time.

A piece of wisdom.

A moment of your full attention.

Before you give it, pause and ask yourself:

"Does this feel clean?"

Not pressured.

Not guilty.

Not obligated.

Just clean.

Aligned.

True.

Then let it move.

Sometimes giving is not about losing something.

Sometimes it is how we realize how much we already have.

With you,

Lynn