Tis better to give than to receive.
Maybe. Maybe not. Personally, I think that both are way cool and that BOTH are sometimes not so easy to do. There are some people who you just can't give ANYTHING to. I find myself asking them, Didn't your mother ever teach you to smile and say Thank you?
It's a true art form to be able to receive in an appreciative way, without being greedy or acting like of course they should have done this for you! You know how it is -- you open a present, and the person who gave it to you is watching you like a hawk. They want to know that you LOVE it. Or a least that you don't think that it is cheap, dorky, or very very lame.
Which of course brings me to giving . . . My sister used to always buy me gifts that SHE liked. I don't know if she thought my taste needed to be improved or if she just figured that if I didn't like it, then SHE could have it!!! That's step one in giving -- be sure that you give something that THEY want or need. Listen carefully. I didn't say to give something that YOU think that they want or need, but something that THEY think that they want or need.
Sure there ARE times, when you can give something to someone that they never even knew existed; you give it to them, and they LOVE it! BUT usually you had a pretty good idea that they would like it because of knowing them. You took the time to consider THEIR taste, to consider what they would probably enjoy.
Back to opening presents. It IS important to accept gifts graciously, but don't pretend. You might get something that you don't like again and again if you gush over it. A really good friend of mine always gave flavored coffee to my mom -- we are talking every Christmas for years. My mom hates flavored coffee. She never gushed, but she made just enough of a thank you fuss that my friend kept buying it for her!
What could my mom have done? Maybe she could have said something like, It is so sweet of you to get me these wonderful flavored coffees. You are so right, I DO love coffee, but lately, I have been enjoying good full bodied decaf the most. Now here comes the part where she softens the blow: I have a really good friend, Thelma, that I haven't seen for quite some time. I am going to be visiting her over the holidays. She is an elderly woman that doesn't get out much and she just ADORES flavored coffee -- this would be the perfect thing to take to her! Would that be all right with you? It would make me sooooo happy to give her this pleasure! Now isn't that smoooooth?
Giving or taking is pretty straight forward when you are talking about gifts, but what about the rest of your life? How are you with your friends? How are your friends with you? Do you find yourself always doing stuff for other people? Do you worry what might happen if you stop? Or are you the one who wants and expects others to do stuff for you?
If you treat people this way -- they might surprise you and do the same back to you.
If you were perfect, you could live your life balanced just right between giving and taking. BUT none of us are perfect. We can however, try to get our act together a little bit each day. Who knows if we give ourselves the chance, we might even take ourselves by surprise and start to get a clue about this whole give or take thing!