THE LAW OF GIVING AND RECEIVING

Is there something you want, but you are convinced that you will never have it? 

You have resigned yourself to the notion that the thing you desire is far beyond your reach and you can't see any way of ever getting it.  Your dream has seemingly been denied by higher powers, and the realization that you must accept present circumstance as the pattern and destiny of your life gnaws at you like a hungry lion.  You are surrounded by hopelessness and it fills you with despair and even anger to think that you are one of the unfortunates of the world.  The parade of life has passed you by, and someone has handed you a broom to clean up the mess.   You have been singled out to suffer undeserved penalties of loss and grief while the rest of the world goes on its merry way to prosperity.

If a secret formula existed that could help you get the thing you wanted would you be interested in finding out what it was?

People are naturally suspicious of getting something for nothing because they know there is no such thing as a “free lunch”.  Everything has a price and someone will eventually have to pay it.  Spectacular deals are usually spectacularly disguised scams.  Most people have the attitude that good deals just don’t happen to them.  Their life is the embodiment of Murphy’s Law and their “luck” just isn’t that good. 

You can’t get something for nothing.  Everybody intuitively knows that. And this intuitive knowledge is expressed as skepticism of any promise that promises too much, or “sounds too good to be true”.  And if you will study the underlying attitude of the people who feel that way, you will find the very secret of getting what you want.

If it is true that I can’t get something for nothing, then the reverse must also be true that I can’t give anything without receiving something for it.  It is true.  It is a law.

Think for a moment about the people you come in contact with.  How do you feel about them?  When you like or dislike a person, doesn’t that person usually return the feeling you "gave" them? A company produces (gives) goods or services to the marketplace that enables it to receive revenue, and to make repeat customers it gives good service, courtesy and good will to its customers in exchange for continued business.   To receive wages or a salary an employee gives a day's, or a week's, or a month's work. To get a raise the employee gives a little more than he is paid for.    An artist, writer, singer, actor, or athlete wins fame by giving the world a work of art, some great literature, a beautiful song, or a magnificent performance. A farmer gives seed, water, and care to the ground to get a crop. Friendship is received by giving friendship first. 

Do people ever get something for nothing by giving nothing for what they take? Who are these people and how did they get something for nothing? The woman who marries a rich man only for his money or social position; The gambler who divides his time between casino and track; The thief who steals and robs at the point of a gun; The con-man who cheats an unsuspecting person out of his property; The real estate broker who sells worthless lots for big prices; The heirs who destroy the old will or forge a new one so that all the property comes to them; The counterfeiter who makes hundred-dollar bills out of mere paper and ink; The person who writes a worthless check; the embezzler who falsifies the company books; the company officers who manipulate the company’s stock price for their private gain; The son or daughter who imprisons an elderly parent in a nursing home to get possession of the parent’s property.

Though we might classify what was done in these examples as “nothing” they all have debts posted to their accounts.  There is a big distinction between taking and receiving.  Taking implies deception or force, while receiving is the act of accepting something that is voluntarily given. Each act denotes the character and attitude of the parties involved in the transaction.  The more you watch the individuals who do these things the more you'll see how the law worked out in their lives. Was there ever a gambler who was able to keep his money? Did any burglar ever have anything left after he paid his debt to society? Are counterfeiters respected members of the community who donate their time and money to charities that benefit the common good? Did the woman who married for money ever find happiness?

Did any of these something-for-nothings escape the consequences of violating the law?  Don’t answer until you investigate the lives of people who try to get something for nothing.  They cannot break the law; the law breaks them.

What, then, makes the law of giving and receiving work?

Is hard work the key?   No. Hard work does not make the formula work. There are plenty of people who have worked hard but have gotten almost nothing for it. It is better to work smart than hard.

Is honesty the answer? No.   But it is one of the building blocks of character.

Does dishonesty pay? It does produce a return.  Every action produces a corresponding consequence, and the inevitable conclusion of dishonesty is loss and ruin.

The operation of the law of giving and receiving rests on one thing: obedience.  The actions and reactions of the law are as predicable and consistent as any law that governs our existence, and has as much control over people’s lives as the law of gravity does.

Everyone is subject to the law of gravity.  It doesn’t make any difference whether the person is good or bad, honest or dishonest, crooked or straight, saint or sinner, rich or poor, fat or lean, white or black, handsome or homely.  The law of gravity works infallibly, invariably, inflexibly, universally, impartially, and eternally. 

The same is true for the law of giving and receiving. It works with the same infallibility and continuity as all other laws. It makes no distinction between individual personalities, or location, or body weight, or hair color, or character. This law works for everyone. It operates to the benefit of everyone who lives in harmony with the law, and the detriment of those who seek to oppose it.  And no other law can stop it; because all the laws of nature are linked together, work together, help one another; are interdependent.

The truth embodied in law is demonstrated anywhere and everywhere in the present and in the future, and is not affected by human conditions. The mathematical law of two plus two equals four is true and absolute regardless of location, culture, social standing, educational level, legal standing, financial standing, or historical period.  Clouds might obscure the light of the stars to the eyes, but beyond the clouds the stars still emit their light. Static interferes with the reception of the individual radio and the person’s ability to hear the broadcast, but the broadcast signal is there just the same.

The law of giving and receiving states that what I give out returns to me; multiplied --always. This means that you are where you are and have what you have because of what you have given out.  Whatever you give out will return to you -- multiplied.  The farmer reaps what he sows -- multiplied -- always.  The size and kind of the harvest will always be in proportion to amount and kind of seed sown.

You can change the size and kind of crop you are reaping, but there's just one way to do it: you must change the quantity and kind of seed that you are planting.  Change your attitude toward the world and the people in it; change your reaction to the events in your life; begin to look for the good and not the bad; be generous; be enthusiastic; live in a spirit of gratitude for what you have and what you receive; be a channel, not a dam.  The law works, and nothing, or nobody, or no circumstance can stop it. Any life can be transformed by transforming the emotions and reactions that is given out.  Practice mental alchemy – change the bad thoughts to good.

When will the change be noticed?

It begins the instant you make the decision to start. The law works for you the moment you begin to obey it.

A wrong answer to any math problem is a result of working the problem by the wrong method -- contrary to principle -- in opposition to law.  But the right answer comes immediately once the right method is used.  Obedience can correct the mistakes of yesterday, or of last year. 

Begin today -- this very moment -- to apply the law of giving and receiving in your life and notice the instant changes that take place in you, and everything around you.  It is such a basic and fundamental law that it affects every part of our life and every thought that enters our mind.