Giving Yourself Permission to Give
Prema Graha with Eon, Munson Library, South Amherst, January 21, 1995
The food that the poor need is the food that you need. There is no difference between a poor person and a rich person, in terms of what they need. There is only a difference in terms of what they have. What they have may not be what they need. So, everyone has something and needs something. And the two rarely match.
Oftentimes, life is like going around at a card game and discarding some of what you have and having other people pick it up because it’s what they need. But, when you hold on to cards, even if you don’t need them because you are afraid to let them go, then others will not get what they need from you.
What is it you have that others need? For some, it is peace. You feel a sense of peace in certain situations, circumstances. They need that. Most people don’t. For some, it is wisdom. Some are born in this life with an inherent wisdom on certain areas of life-- relationships between people, devotion to God, the purpose of living, how to love and live well. Everyone has a kind of wisdom in them that is unique to them. This is something that you have that others need.
Also, for some it is their labor that they have that others need. Some are strong, mentally or physically, and have something to give to others that is important.
These are all cards you could hold in your hand, but if they are not for you, if they do not meet the card-hand you need to win your game, you should discard these cards. In other words, make yourself available.
This does not mean just simply telling people: “I am available.” It means, in your heart, giving yourself permission to give. It’s a shocking thing, dear ones, how much permission it takes to give because there are so many rules against giving. Rules written in the mind that say: “I am not qualified to give. I'm not good enough. What I have to give, others don't want. What others want I don't want to give.”
There are a lot of statements that have been expounded, but everyone has the same capacity and the same ability, and the same quantity of giving. It is easy to give. But to give you absolutely must be open to receiving because as we mentioned, just a short two days previous, there is no difference, practically speaking between birth and death. That it depends which side you view the event, what you call it. Same is true for giving and receiving. Practically speaking, in terms that matter, there is no difference in the action.