Generous You!

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is error, truth;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

The prayer of St. Francis is one of my favorites, for it is a reminder to take the focus off of everyone else and put it back on myself. When I feel grasping or at a loss, I tend to magnify what I don't have or what someone hasn't done for me. When I flip that around and come from a place of responsibility, I remember the saying "Let it begin with me." Instead of my being the reactor to what someone else is doing, I place myself in the driver's seat by setting the tone myself. Why don't I give that which I wish to receive, rather than wait for the handout or place the expectation on the other person.

Become the bigger person. Take the high road. There is so much joy in giving... Giving the benefit of the doubt, giving to the cause. When I become the giver, I receive great joy from another's joy. I remember an epiphany I once had while teaching: I love my students for what I am able to give them.

The opportunity to be the giver is a great honor. When I am reminded of this fact, I start to look for opportunities to bring to the table what I have been trying to get, and suddenly, my world gets bigger. When I stop focusing on what I'm going to "get" out of the situation, and reverse the flow, the universe begins to funnel that abundance through me, for the source is unlimited.

Make your job today an opening of the heart and aligning with the greatest source of abundance: the creator/trix itself. When you do this, you will find that you will have everything to give, for you will be the receiver of all abundance. All you have to do is give it away. 

Cheers.