It receives from the soil its nutrients, sunlight for its photosynthesis, and resilient strength from the strong wind which blows on it. The roost system gets stronger with wind priming it to be stronger all the time!Receiving.
It gives its fruits all through out the year. In any health coconut palm there are different generations of coconuts telling of its natural habit. Giving
This rhythm of receiving and giving is interesting to behold and contemplate. In giving it does not get exhausted. The receiving sustains it.
I have been through a new consciousness of this calling in life!
I am often asked a question by friends who care and support! It is going to be forty years since I have been in full time clinical practice with children who have developmental needs. I have had times of tiredness and anxiety. They were times when I did not make myself available to receive. One receives when one asks, waits and becomes ready to receive.
This calls for personal rituals of giving attention to oneself! The habit of reading, meditating on the Scripture verses, being in touch with people who can have a formative influence, practicing silence in prayer, and reflecting on the events in life are some of the ways that I have been used to receiving strength and renewal to go on.
I find this as essential to be inwardly alive. However there have been times, when I have been carried away by distractions or preoccupations and not nourishing myself inwardly. The distractions that I find restraining are too much of entertainment, socialisation, loose conversations, indulging in matters of other people, etc. What adds to the orientation to be in a receiving mode is regular body exercises, regular sleep, nutritious food habits and staying friendly and open.
The habit of giving by listening, engaging and being available can be a source of encouragement to others when giving is inspirational and upbuilding!
The coconut palms give fruits. The tender coconut is refreshing to drink and eat. The fully formed coconut is an essential ingredient of some menu of food we consume. The coconut is giving itself and is often forgotten.
That is the essence of true giving. The giver gets subsumed while giving and might even be forgotten later. But the one who receives gets nourished and enabled! One is called to give fully and freely! It stops there. To give to be known or acknowledged is a subtle trap and makes giving a selfish act to receive something in return. That can become even compulsive to influence others to receive praise in return.
The joy of life is in receiving and giving!
We need to orient ourselves to receive ours before we can give. I remember a senior friend who had a profound influence in my life, had a habit of looking at me gently with gladness in his face when I went to visit him, This is a silent time ofd several seconds. Her did to 'take me in' in his words. He had to leave what he was engaged in until my visit and turn his attention to me fully, which he did by being silent while beholding me. He would fill his consciousness with memories of me and tune to be present to me and attentive to me. This silence is a sign of welcome and interior readiness to receive me! When he breaks the silence to greet and welcome, there is a resonance in his words that often reached me deeper in my being. His silence would enfold me to be inwardly still to turn to be present in his presence. The presence to be in conversation begins with a deeper awareness of the gift of friendship.
Although I have been desirous of preparing myself to receive and give by preparing during the transition moments, it has been possible only on some occasions. The hurry to enter into conversation takes over. We become conversational with less readiness when transition moments are skipped. That is when conversations become mundane and less meaningful.
The closure of conversation with my friend was similarly transitional. There is a long pause of silence while looking at each other, in preparation for the farewell, during which time, there is an inner grateful awareness of the gift of giving and receiving, we exchanged during the conversation.
Life is lived in this rhythm of receiving and giving. They are sacred occasions of inner growth and enlightenment. When we are present to each other, we become present to God who is present in our midst and in our lives.
When that happens receiving and giving becomes an experience of communion!
M.C.Mathew( text and photo)
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