Let your everyday offerings be full of life and light
I’ve been thinking about words again. This time, I’ve been parsing out the difference between “give” and “offer.” At first blush, they seem to be the same thing. Both imply that one person has something and there is this act of transferring it to an other.
There’s a subtle difference between the two, though. When we give, we expect the other person to receive. That’s why we say “give and take.”
This might not seem like a big deal, but expectations can ruin the good, because expectations set up conditions, or preconceived ideas for how a situation will go. If our expectations aren’t met, then we can have all kinds of tangled emotions inside.
Expectations bind us. We get trapped by our script of how things are supposed should unfold. We cling to particular ideas and results.
To offer is different. When we offer, we do so without expectation, and who knows what might happen?
What does that look like?
Imagine scooping up a handful of seed and holding it open to the sky, waiting to see what might come and feed. Or if the seed is soft and light, how a gentle breeze might come along and carry it off to who knows where.
Whatever it is we are offering can be accepted or rejected. We have no expectations—for ourselves or the other. This creates freedom, because it takes power and control out of the equation.
When we offer, everyone can be surprised by—and have a choice in—what happens next. No one has to feel accepted or rejected. The offer is only the offer.
While giving has expectation tangled up in it, offering has surrender at its heart. Offering is less about control and more about spirit.
It’s the difference between a game and play. A game has rules and a predetermined outcome. Play is inherently free and spontaneous and creative. To play is just like to offer: it opens up the interaction for one and all.
Offering is beautiful for another reason. It means trusting that who you are and what you have to offer is amazing. Period. It means trusting that you have gifts and skills and quirks that can do the world good and make it a better place for everyone.
So, be you. Offer what you have in you. Offer who you are.
Just like a handful of seed, let your everyday offerings be full of life and light. See what wings arrive on their own to carry it into the world.
Or watch your offerings jump on the wind and see where they go. Offer your gifts. See what grows. Live light.