Aspire Magazine: Inspiration for a Woman's Soul.(TM) Dec/Jan 2019 Aspire Magazine Final | Page 51
3. W
hat difference could cultivating the
art of receiving make in your life?
To answer this question, I invite you to try
the easiest way to develop your receiving
muscles - accept a compliment. When you
are given a compliment this week simply
say thank you. This one simple act can be
revolutionary and change your experience of
receiving. Opening to receiving with gratitude
is a powerful act of giving and receiving and is
profoundly nurturing. To deepen the process,
check in with how you feel after accepting a
compliment. Notice any negative self-talk
present or feelings of not being worthy of the
positive feedback. This information will point
you toward the belief that may be feeding
your difficulty in receiving and provide you an
opportunity to transform it.
Using these three reflective questions and the
self-nurturing practices shared will support you
in beginning to cultivate the art of giving and
receiving. You have the power to intentionally
give and receive in a way that allows you to
shine brightly in the world – giving purposefully
and receiving others’ gifts graciously. This
beautifully self-fulfilling cycle will bring more
love, light, peace, and joy to ourselves and to
a world so desperately needing it.
I leave you with the gift of insight and wisdom
on the art of giving and receiving from two of
my heroines, Brene Brown and Maya Angelou.
“Until we can receive with an open
heart, we are never really giving with
an open heart.”
–
BRENE BROWN
“When we give cheerfully and ac-
cept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”
– MAYA ANGELOU
May you commit to open heartedly
giving and gratefully receiving as you
nurture peace and joy in the world from
the inside out!
Sending you peace, love and gratitude,
Kelley
Kelley Grimes, MSW - Kelley is a counselor,
speaker, internationally bestselling author,
Aspire Magazine expert columnist, and
self-nurturing expert. She is passionate
about empowering overwhelmed and
exhausted individuals to live with more
peace, joy and meaning through the practice of self-nurturing.
Kelley also provides professional and leadership
development to organizations dedicated
to making the world a better place. She is
married to an artist, has two empowered
daughters, and loves singing with a small women’s group. Learn
more at www.CultivatingPeaceandJoy.com and download your free
Self-Nurturing Mobile App
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reinforce the value and worth of your needs
and expand your support system. You
will find that asking for and receiving help
will reinforce that you do not have to do it
all yourself in life, and the practice offers
others an opportunity to nurture you. Even if
receiving is uncomfortable at first, continue
to stretch into this practice. When you see
receiving help, a compliment or a gift as an
act of self-nurturing, you are cultivating the
art of giving and receiving.