kind over matter: The Kindness of Receiving with Brené Brown

kind over matter: The Kindness of Receiving with Brené Brown: "Until we can receive with an open heart, we are never really giving with an open heart. When we attach judgment to receiving help, we knowingly or unknowingly attach judgment to giving help.

In our culture we’ve come to equate success with not needing anyone. Many of us are willing to extend a helping hand, but we’re very reluctant to reach out for help when we need it ourselves. It’s as if we’ve divided the world into 'those who offer help' and 'those who need help.'

The truth is that we are both. In order to experience real connection, we need to experience both giving and receiving."

And, here I am... completely humbled by that concept.

I received a voicemail this week from someone at church. She said that she would like to talk to me about a donation that someone would like to give me. I immediately thought--"hmm, very nice, but I don't need anything" with a little bit of "since when did I become a charity case?!?!?" on the side. I called her back to politely and graciously decline the offer of whatever it might be. On the phone, she told me about the kinds of donations that they receive and how some people have specific types of recipients in mind. In this case, she was looking for a single mother with a daughter between the ages of 3 and 6. Suddenly I became more interested. A family wanted to donate a bedroom set. Guess what? LJ needs a bedroom set. And, just like that, I signed up for the receiving end of some kindness. They delivered it last night, and they were an incredibly beautiful family (plus one incredibly beautiful friend they brought along). After they set everything up, LJ had a little tea party for them. She also delivered about fifty kisses. I think she likes her new bedroom set!

And me? I got a genuine spiritual awakening.

Kind Regards (from a much more open heart),

Your Neighbor