Unconditional Receiving
What if you already had everything you ever wanted and just didn’t realize it? What if every need or desire that was in your best interest was ready to be met and fulfilled abundantly and the only thing standing in the way was you? What if you had a million dollars sitting in your bank account but you didn’t know it, so you lived a life of poverty? Sounds crazy, right? A shame? A waste even! Yes, all of these things apply but the fact is that many of us live like this, failing to make the most of what we do have and focusing on what we don’t have.
Since I was a child, my parents have always given me an abundance of love and have provided for me in every way conceivable. As a kid, if I wanted something, I got it. You might even say I was spoiled rotten ;) I grew up having access to every opportunity and advantage I can think of. I went to a great school and my family supported me throughout university and law school, ensuring that I had access to every opportunity, all the while living comfortably. Even now, as I forge ahead with the choice to follow my heart and passion for music, leaving behind a promising legal career, my family has continued to give me nothing but their utmost love and support.
It doesn’t get much better than that, right? Right. I’ve been so blessed in my life and I am truly thankful for everything I’ve been given. But somehow, amidst all of this abundance and all these blessings, my ego has still found a way to keep me from being at peace. The voice in my head will often chime in: “You don’t deserve it,” “Why do you get to have it so easy while others struggle?” ”It’s too good to be true.” The truth is that it’s only too good to be true if I say so.
This is a perfect example of how clever and sneaky the ego can be. It thrives on keeping us in search of something that’s missing, on always feeling a sense of unease, keeping us in a perpetual state of searching but never finding, wanting but never being satisfied. In my case, in the absence of lack outside of myself, my ego found it elsewhere by questioning my own worth and worthiness of all the good things in my life.
What I am learning is the importance of ALLOWING the goodness to flow into my life. I am learning to graciously ACCEPT all the blessings and do everything I can to put any advantage I’ve been given to good use. Often times, our tendency is to overlook what we have and focus on what is missing or worse still, find some reason why we can’t fully enjoy what we already have. This is one of the more subtle forms of self-sabotage because in this state, we are not open to truly receiving what the Uni-verse wants to provide for us.
Somewhere along the way, we’ve been taught that we’re only worthy of love if we do X, Y, or Z. We only deserve to be successful or achieve our goals if we struggle or suffer in this way or that way. What if it doesn’t have to be that hard? What if there are forces at work that are desperately trying to help us have it all and the only thing stopping them is us?!
I believe that those forces do exist. I believe that our dreams and our calling are an invitation to love ourselves enough to allow the goodness in, to take action on behalf of our highest vision and to take a leap of faith. Once we do, the goodness will flow freely, our actions will be supported as we take steps towards our dream life and when we leap, the net will appear.
What I’m talking about is UNCONDITIONAL RECEIVING. Being willing to let the good stuff happen, believing that we deserve it and that it can happen to “little old me” for no other reason than the fact that we are who we are. Each and every one of us deserves the very best that life has to offer and the first step is to remove any condition we have placed upon our worthiness to receive it.
It begins with an attitude of gratitude and the ongoing acknowledgement of everything that we have to be grateful for. The next step is being open to what is coming our way, trusting that the Uni-verse has our back and loving ourselves enough to say YES to all of it.
Let the love in. Let the blessings in. Let the goodness in. You deserve it.
Much love,
Chris
Written for The Daily Love (Oct. 29th, 2011)