Creating the Capacity to Receive

 

 

"Everything comes to us that belongs to us if we create the capacity to receive it."   -- Rabindranath Tagore

I love the focus of Tagore's idea. A younger me would have scoffed at the idea had I read the same meaning into it as I do now. 

Once upon a time, I believed that everything around me was enough. That has not changed for the corporal, material world. I also did not believe in a concept of right or wrong, instead I believed in conflict and consequence. I still believe that as well. So where is the challenge in the idea above? 

Rabindranath Tagore speaks of things belonging to us and of receiving. "Everything comes to us that belongs to us..." The concept is ownership and our capacity is one of deserving. That would not have sat well with a younger me. To be honest, it only appeals now because I have willingly created the capacity to receive the energies of help, abundance, nurturing, time, prosperity and peace into my life.

To dream on a cloud, to skip again like the three-year-old I once was, before the weight of the world (for which I was NOT responsible and to which I did NOT need to acquiesce) began to bear its burden and change my perception, I was light and abundant on my own. You had a time like that, too, once -- do you remember it?

Deciding later that, while not everyone would turn out rotten, many in the world were greedy. They tried to own everything. And it seemed no one was willing to help without a human sacrifice of some sort that often had me running on empty in more ways than one. While I treated everyone with a baseline of respect that could go up or down from there (I still do), I did not believe that anyone inherently deserved anything. I did not believe in the concept of 'deserve'.

Deserve: de-serve. Remove the serving. Keep for the self. Oh, self care! Filling my own cup.

Over the past year, I've been hit over the head by other positive people with the idea of caretakers deserving rights. (note: Yes, I am a positive person and have been all of my life. Positivity is a survival trait but does not mean that a person does not get depressed.) These rights are things like love, care, support. These are things that I provide but that I hadn't taken the time to receive.

I hadn't created the capacity to receive them. 

When something goes "wrong" in my life now, sometimes help is offered, and I am so grateful. It feels wonderful. People may say, "I'm so sorry that happened today!" and I'll say, "Why? I'm so grateful!" 

Who knows what is good and what is bad. There is no right and wrong. I'm really, really happy. I am learning every day from every step I make. I am creating the capacity to receive a life that I love.