No Expectations

Give wholeheartedly and never expect anything in return. Sounds good, right? Well it is a difficult thing to do my friend. People like receiving. Some even depend on it. If they didn't, all the givers wouldn't have a job. Giving is a selfless act. Or is it? Doesn't it make you feel good to give? Maybe you aren't receiving anything concrete in return, but inside you feel good about it. If you didn't feel this way you wouldn't be human. Can you imagine if everyone gave more than they received? Is that even possible? I wonder about this often. I have read it is better to give anonymously. This way you disconnect yourself from expecting anything in return. And by anything I mean things like, gratitude from the receiver, appreciation, recognition, or all of the above. Giving without any kind of reward, be it from the receiver, or simply internal manifestations of good feelings, is really difficult. I think it is nearly impossible to give and not feel rewarded at least in some sense. We are not robots. Our brains work on a feedback system. I think a lot of the philosophies about giving don't take that into consideration. It's ok to feel good about giving. If you don't than that means you feel badly about it or you feel nothing at all.

This is what I woke up thinking this morning.