Today, Christmas, is probably the single most day dedicated to giving. Maybe Valentines Day runs a close second, but on Christmas EVERYONE is giving. It’s on Christmas where I am reminded about the other side of that however; Receiving.

Giving and receiving, they naturally go hand-in-hand. Most of us do not have a problem with giving – to some it’s an obligation and that is unfortunate. Giving is the key to receiving. If you want to learn, then give of your own knowledge (teach). If you want to be a friend, then give of your friendship. If you want to be loved, than give your love. We hear about giving all the time, but what of the receiving?

So many people have a hard time receiving. They feel embarrassed, as if perhaps they were not worth the gift. Or perhaps guilty that they received and someone else did not. Receiving honestly makes a lot of people uncomfortable. I used to be that way. I used to not be able to receive a compliment. This would seem like not quite that big of a problem, but it is common. I would finish performing, and IF I went out with the rest of the cast to greet the audience I would usually hide in the shadows so I did not have to feel embarrassed with all the compliments. I’m actually a pretty good actor, so I would usually get quite a few. Usually I just stayed in the dressing rooms getting back to myself. But there were always the die-hard friends or family that would hang around and I’d still have to deal with it- the dreaded compliment.

One day, someone told me, “Hey – I just wanted to give you a compliment. But if you can’t accept it, whatever”. I had hurt someone because I could not graciously accept their gift to me. That moment changed my life.

The world is full of gifts to you and me. We must be willing AND sincerely glad to receive them. This is where the old saying, “When opportunity knocks …” come from. When the gifts of the universe (some of our own creation) come our way, we must be willing and gracious enough to receive them and we must receive them with a grateful heart.

So, this Christmas while your giving is important, remember also that the receiving is also just as important. As Gibran wrote: “…it is the pleasure of the bee to gather honey of the flower, But it is also the pleasure of the flower to yield its honey to the bee. For to the bee a flower is a fountain of life, and to the flower a bee is a messenger of love, and to both, bee and flower, the giving and the receiving ... is a need and an ecstasy. … Be in your pleasures like the flowers and the bees.