You ever work with people who think that they have all the answers? And maybe you even wondered how they always seemed to know the right thing to say. Those who know everything may seem to have everything.
But one thing they’re missing is advantage. The person who has everything has the least advantage while the person who knows nothing is rich. Why? Simple. This person has room to build, grow, flow, and expand. When you know everything, you’re full. Adding more is like having a big belly after a really great dinner but minus the satisfaction. Full but not satisfied is an unenviable position.
The know-it-all is packed into one square space, one tightly closed box. It may be a pretty box but there’s no room for light or air. Nothing can get in or out unless they open up.
Perhaps, like me, you have memories of stories about the dollar in the closed fist. Or maybe you remember kids who got their allowance and walked around with it in their pockets. They often checked to make sure it was there. Sometimes they grew anxious that their money had fallen out during recess. Other times, they didn’t play because they were afraid of losing their money. It was sad, really. These kids didn’t get any joy out of their money. They had it but they were always worried about losing it. If you hold on too tight, you only ever have what you hold on to. If you invest in something, you can grow the money and get dividends. Even if that kid bought a bag of potato chips and shared it with friends, the dollar would be gone but the memories and the joy they bring would last a lifetime.
Think about it. Remember some of those times with your childhood friends, when somebody called “half-ing” (or whatever kids said in your neighborhood to indicate it’s time to share) just as you opened your bag of potato chips. Part of you might have wished you could re-seal that bag.
But in my neighborhood, when somebody called “half-ing”, there was an unspoken code. It activated a promise to share our goodies with each other. So, we were bound by our promise to give. It was fine because you knew whenever you called “half-ing”, someone would adhere to that code and share with you too.
Sharing those bags of potato chips, cookies, grapes, popcorn and other goodies became an essential ingredient in the brick and mortar used to build lifelong friendships. Since Mercury has gone retrograde, I’ve been running into elementary school friends on Facebook. Yes, old friends and old pictures showing up are among the good things associated with Mercury retrograde. But that’s another story.
Once we open our hand and use what we have, we can get more out of it. It’s a perfect example of #reciprocity in action. Plant seeds and get a garden of flowers, fruits, and/or vegetables. Share them and get the gifts of gratitude, praise, and admiration. These are the opportunities available to the person who is open and willing to share what they have. Taoist described the uncarved block that’s full of potential. Ancient Africans in Kemet and Yoruba land described Nun and Olokun, the primordial waters that existed before creation. There was nothing, yet there was the potential for everything. Our willingness to “not know” opens us to great potential. We explore. We continue to get more and more, yet remain empty and receptive. We wonder. We grow.
What’s most amazing is that this perspective is quite energizing and satisfying. We’re absorbed in our curiosity yet we have so much to give. And the more we give, the more we receive. This is a catalytic merger of #reciprocity and #balance. We give. We receive. We revel in the infinite, complementary power of being empty and full of possibilities.
© Sandra Y. Lewis | All Rights Reserved