What You Give, You Get From Life

[Guest guest]

" Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, " declared Isaac

Newton in the 1700s. " Garbage in, garbage out, " say geeks. Sow a

seed, reap a fruit. Plant a chilli, you get chillies back. Plant a

mango, you get mangoes back.

 

But how is it that sometimes people sow chillies but get mangoes and

others sow mangoes, but get chillies? There's no inconsistency in

this; the chillies are simply fruits of some earlier actions or

decisions and the mangoes are yet to come.

 

You can't force a seed to grow. You can't compel a flower to blossom.

These things depend on the seed type and environmental conditions.

Therefore, one must not get dejected — one must

not stop sowing good seeds, because there exists no other way to

receive good fruits. Often, bitter, drier fruits are more nutritious

and health-inducing than the succulent, sweeter ones.

 

This is the natural law of the universe. You get what you give,

though you may not recognise it, because, it may arrive earlier or

later than you expect it to or it could come in a somewhat different

guise. For example, when we exhale, we give carbon dioxide to plants

and trees. The plants and trees in turn metabolise it and release

oxygen, which we again metabolise and return to

the trees — in the form of carbon dioxide. If we did not give carbon

dioxide to the trees, they would perish eventually, and so would we.

 

The cells in our body nourish one another, supporting and supplying

each other with nutrients the other needs. The entire biological and

ecological system combined makes possible the sustenance of the

fabulous and intricate organic system/s we call `life'.

 

Similarly, if you befriend, you will be befriended. If you love, you

will be loved. Love, family and friends enrich one's life more than

any amount of wealth. But you need to make continual investments of

friendliness, affection and love to keep the system fully

functioning. This is because we are all human beings and we don't

love all the time. Sometimes we say nasty things to a loved one —

maybe we say things we don't really mean, but it amounts to a

withdrawal from the love account. What you take out, needs to be

redeposited as early as possible.

 

Affection and love are not about giving away money or buying

expensive gifts, although it is necessary to do these things on

certain occasions. When you give of your possessions, you give

little. When you give of your self, you give all. Time, a sympathetic

ear, humour or a helping hand in times of distress are all what more

people need to receive and to give.

 

Most of us think we give much more to society than we receive.

Psychologists call it Self-Serving Bias: we have an unwitting

capacity to forget our neighbour's good deeds, remember our good

ones, and forget our bad ones. We feel shortchanged. Just a little

effort and reflection will show that the balance is not always tilted

the other way.

 

A 14-year study of 2,700 people in Michigan, US, revealed that those

who did charity work lived longer, were relatively free from heart

disease, had lower blood pressure and greater peace of mind. The

dynamics of happiness are asymmetrical. Fulfilment comes from giving,

not receiving. The fact that so many people in the world are still

disappointed, frustrated and unfulfilled despite the fact they live

in opulence compared to many others is evidence that they have only

received. And the real magic of giving lies in the way you give.

 

Give with your whole being, your whole heart — remember, half a seed

cannot germinate. And after planting your seeds, expect absolutely

nothing in return: Give without remembering you

gave and take without forgetting you took.