Don't "Give and Take". Try This Instead.

Written by Vineet Sethi

We are all familiar with this phrase: ‘The Joy of Giving’.

Giving is celebrated because it’s not easy to do something for someone else, and it takes courage to give away something from your life to others. What brings joy though, is if we have the heart to do something for others without expecting anything in return.

Which makes me ponder over this contradictory and perceived-to-be noble concept of:

‘Give And Take’

This concept of “give and take” has brought more misery to humankind than anything else- it snatches away the joy from giving and makes the element of expectation inherent in most of our actions. Expectation is the most common root cause of human suffering, in terms of bad relationships, dissatisfaction at the workplace, and so on, and it brings anxiety in our actions, amongst other perils.

Think about the following few and assess if any may be relatable:

We give our best in school/college to get good grades and not necessarily to get educated
Many give donations and expect divine blessings or good luck in return
We pray and expect forgiveness or divine intervention for resolution of our problems
We undertake corporate gifting and expect lucrative future business
We give our best to children and not just wish but actually expect them to do well from our perspective

To experience pure joy from giving, give freely and abundantly without any expectations and hope of receiving anything in return. If that may be too saintly an idea, I propose a middle path, introducing the idea of:

“Give and Get”

Give for the joy of giving, bereft of expectations, and may you get what you deserve.

Happy Thanksgiving!