Stanley F. Bronstein – Personal Development BlogPersonal Development Blog of the Founder of the Achievement IQ Movement and Creator of the Laws of Positioning

Meditation for Saturday – January 2, 2010

Give Just A Little Bit More, Take A Little Bit Less, From Each Other Tonight. (the Moody Blues)

SOME DEFINITIONS

Dictionary.com defines giving as:

• to present voluntarily and without expecting compensation; bestow

Dictionary.com defines taking as:

• to receive and accept willingly (something given or offered)

OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE SAME COIN

Giving is the act of sending something OUT into the universe.

Taking is the act of accepting something IN from the univeres.

Giving = OUT / INTO

Taking = IN / FROM

GIVING STRENGTHENS THE RECIPIENT

In theory:

• When you give something to another, you are strengthening them and weakening yourself.

TAKING STRENGTHENS YOURSELF

In theory:

• When you take something from another, you are strengthening yourself and weakening them.

IT’S NOT QUITE THAT SIMPLE

Giving – Giving can be a funny thing.  Sometimes, giving can be such a good thing that it not only strengthens the recipient, but it also strengthens the giver.

The act of giving can make the giver feel so good, so positive, that the act makes them stronger, not weaker.

Taking – Taking can also be a funny thing.  Sometimes, taking can be such a bad thing that it not only weakens the giver, but it also weakens the recipient.

The act of taking “can” make all the parties involved feel so bad, so negative, that the act makes everyone weaker.

EVERYTHING IS RELATIVE

Obviously, it all depends on the nature and magnitude of what is being given and what is being taken.

Also, we can’t always judge immediately whether or not something was good or bad.  Sometimes it takes time to measure the results.

NO EASY SOLUTION HERE

This meditation was not intended to give you an easy solution here about giving and taking.

Instead, it is designed to make you think.

Over the course of the next year, we will cover many aspects of giving and taking in much greater detail.  For that reason, I want this meditation to serve as a starting point to get all of us thinking about the subject.