Giving and Receiving

 I have sometimes taken the role of someone who gives something that I have known or experienced, while other times, I receive the experience and gifts of others. Which one,  you might ask, is the more important one? Many are quick to say that it's more important to give than it is to receive, but I beg to differ. I think that both are equally valid parts of the equation, even to the point where skillful receiving has a place in the spiritual path. One of my colleagues who is working in areas of holistic education refers to this as the Confucian idea of "being a good guest", or being someone who receives things with a spirit of grace and respect for what is given.
  Without receivers, would givers know they are giving? Well--most people know what they are giving and how much, simply by the amount of effort that they exert in the gift itself. However, I don't believe that giving can happen in a vacuum. It's the person receiving the gift who acknowledges that the gift has a value, and is not something that is just given out of a whim. If, conversely, a gift has no value to the receiver, then it lacks relevance, and might even be harmful in elevating the status of giver without considering the value of the gift itself. So receivers properly grant and channel the acts of giving into things that matter to the receiver.
   Finally, I believe that by being good receivers, we allow people to practice generosity, particularly those who don't necessarily shine as "exemplary" or "front page news" givers. Giving doesn't need to be ostentatious, big or even generous. Giving can be small and even modest. I think that people need to be receiving the humble gifts of others to encourage giving, even when that gift is not big or earth-shattering. Everyone truly has something they can give, and that faith rests with the receiver.