I am truly blessed with the friends and family I have. All of them are more than generous.
I was recently in Dallas visiting a friend I had never met in person. I know what you’re thinking; if he’s a friend, how is it possible that we’ve never met!? We encountered one another through the Entrepreneurs Organization where we are both members, he is also a member of the cigar group we started. Even though we haven’t had any real facetime, our frequent conversations have helped us develop a friendship over the years. He recently invited me to a wine event in Dallas and since I like to travel and am always up for an experience, I took him up on his generous offer.
The weekend was filled with wine, tequila, whiskey, cigars, food, laughter, music and new friends. Here is the best part: I had never met any of the people that I was being introduced to by my friend! These new friends I met that weekend were very generous; the way they rolled out the hospitality you would think I had known them my whole life and we were just catching up.
At first, all that generosity was a little uncomfortable for me. I am a stranger to them and being treated to their generous hospitality despite that fact. Then it hit me, if my friend had visited me and my tribe we would have done the same thing, so why was it awkward? Their hospitality is exactly what I would have done had the roles been reversed! Once I came to that realization, I allowed myself to receive generously with no expectations.
As we enter the holidays and the season of giving, remember that receiving can be equally generous. While the act of giving is almost always viewed as generous, the ability to graciously receive is also a form of generosity and not a selfish act.
“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.” – Maya Angelou
Have a great weekend,
Vijay