Give and Take

“Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.”  Elizabeth Bibesco

There is much to unwrap here.  It is so easy to register giving, to create a mental note that suggests that I am entitled to receive something in return, whether from the recipient of my gift or from the world at large (some form of universal karma).  Similarly, it is easy to take and forget, to translate what I receive as something owed to me.  Those two might even converge.  That is, I might think I deserve to receive something because I gave something.  I might give only that I will receive.

“Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.”