Receiving gifts graciously
Do you ever hear things or see things in close succession and realise that there is a lesson to be learned? My week has been full of it. My first lesson came at Ragdale Hall. I was chatting to one of the Jennifer Young therapists. He mentioned his auntie who was about to get married and had a terminal diagnosis. Jennifer Young products are on the gift list, so I gave him some. The gift was given with nothing other than giving in mind. There was never any expectation of the gift being reciprocated. The therapist was determined to give me a gift in return, and he did, much to my embarrassment. Lesson number 2 – I went to a lunch meeting with my friend and colleague Sabine, I often take products to meetings and Sabine and I have a lunch habit. It was my turn to pay but she refused to let me as I had given her one of our new face collections (still not available from our site but you can see it in some spas and specialist online retailers). I had every intention of taking my turn to pay for lunch and to give a gift as a gift. Lesson number 3 – Paige bought a lot of chocolate for the office (and I mean A LOT) driven by the absolutely outstanding work done by Alice this week. Alice got a box to herself, as did Paige, in recognition of the fact that she thinks she is awesome. The rest of us got a box to share.
I suggested that Paige put the chocs through as expenses
“no, the chocolates are gifts, I like giving gifts. I didn’t buy to receive’ Lessons 4 and 5 (I know, 5 since Thursday night) My middle daughter had to give a presentation on religion and the future of humanity (she is doing A levels in sciences and French – go figure). She found a commandment to reinforce all of my ‘give and no need to receive’ beliefs. ‘it is more blessed to give than to receive’ Result Or so I thought. I was reminded of a guest blog from 2013; the take home message? But don’t be selfish! Foster a spirit not just of giving but also of receiving. In between your own generosity and all the Christmas preparations, make sure you also let others give you gifts, and give you time, attention, love and support - and work at receiving them with good grace and a warm smile! In being prepared to receive from others you are doing a good and generous thing in allowing them to be showered with blessings as they enjoy being able to do the giving. I’ve learned my lesson. Receiving gifts
Jennifer
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